Shadow In the Storm
by DreamCrafter
Summary: Dawn, an Elf with a mysterious secret, is fed up of life in her village whose residents have an irrational hatred against men. Is it fate that one day, she stumbles upon three mysterious strangers. What will happen from there on? Will love bloom? Will friendships be created? Or will everything be lost, for the evil they face is only the Shadow of the Storm. Pearlshipping!
1. Chapter 1

**I am so freaking inconsistent.**

**PLEASE READ THE A/N BELOW AND BELOW THE STORY**

**Hey everyone! I'm so sorry I haven't been updating recently – life's really kept me on my feet and I've been so busy I haven't had the chance to write much! I should be able to write more after mid-March, but in the meantime I'll try and squeeze as much time as I can in bringing out updates for you all!**

**But away from that… here's my new story :D Sorry the first chapter is so short, but if I get enough amount of positive feedback from this first chapter, I will continue to write this story and future chapters can be expected to be around 10,000 words long. If not, I'll delete this story and burn all evidence that it ever existed :D**

**In this story, most of the characters are probably OOC, although I will try and make them as similar to their personalities as possible. Right now, there are only 3 characters from Pokemon, but more will be added in later chapters. Also don't worry guys, there WILL be pokemon involved in the later chapters of this story too.**

**Okay, so a brief summary of the characters, there are 3 races mentioned in the first chapter, 'dwarves' – a race of mountain dwellers with long bushy beards and relatively short in height.**

'**men' – I don't think I need to describe them… do i?**

'**Elves' - Very similar to men, but are immortal and cannot die of old age, but can die by acts of violence. They have great respect for nature, have a keen eyesight, very sensitive sense of smell and sharp ears.**

**Also, you guys (hopefully) should be pleased to hear that his is one of three stories that I'm planning on releasing – one more full story and a sort of one-shot, so you can all keep your eyes peeled for that!**

**Without further ado, let's get onto the first chapter. Enjoy!**

**Oh yes, by the way, the title to this story is pretty rubbish(I swear it has no relevance to the story whatsoever, I just randomly thought of it and was like 'meh')… if you have any better names please suggest them either by review or PM and if I like it, I'll give you credit :P**

A deep voice penetrated the silence of the forest. It was rough and deep and made the animals nearby flee away from the source.

_Intruders_, I thought to myself, feeling my lips pull into a frown. _The King won't be happy about this._

There were a few laughs, one was light and almost musical, and the other was rich and long, but different from the one who sang. I could hear three different voices… three different trespassers.

Cautiously I drew my bow from behind my back and clasped an arrow from my quiver, silently slipping it into my weapon and aiming it beyond the bushes. Through the leaves and twigs I could see a strange trio, each riding a bulky horse. A Dwarf with a bushy ginger beard and a well-worn battle helmet forced over unnaturally wild hair; a human with sunken black eyes and a sombre face that looked as if he had experienced many harsh times. Brown, well maintained hair spiked up in all directions, flecked with a darker brown, and he was dressed in weathered black leather; and finally a strangely handsome elf clad in green and brown, with his hair as dark as feathers on a raven and his chocolate-brown eyes as deep and piercing as a hawk's. He was leading in front of the other two on a while stallion, and he too was equipped with a bow and a quiver of red-feathered arrows. He had a concentrated look etched upon his tanned face, but he couldn't help but smile at the Dwarf's song.

"Please Gladad," He said to the Dwarf in his musical voice, sending him a threatening look. "Stop your singing, I can sense something."

My heart skipped a beat. He may have sensed me, or caught my scent. I had to stop them venturing any deeper through the forest now, or I might get caught.

I stretched my bowstring more, feeling the tender wood tense in my hand.

Gladad – the dwarf – and the man exchanged glances. "Well I thought my singing was pretty decent," Gladad muttered as the man shrugged.

"What is it, Ash?" he asked, leaving the dwarf behind and trotting his horse over to the stationary elf. Ash held out a hand to the man, to silence him, and listened to the once more silent forest.

I stretched my bow as far as it would go, ready to let my arrow fly.

Ash, hopefully oblivious to my presence, continued to scan the forest with his keen brown eyes, then said, "I feel something… I can sense someone. Another Elf? Or a human? That I am not sure." I winced. By the gods, how could he tell that?

"Another elf?" Boomed Gladad, riding over to his companions. "Impossible! There are no Elves here, it must be a human Ash. Your age must be finally taking a toll on your sense of smell!" He laughed a thunderous laugh.

Ash glared at him, "You think I do not know the scent of my own kind?" He snapped, managing to control his anger. "I can smell both man and elf."

"Are you sure it is not my human scent that you smell?" asked the man, concerned for his elven friend.

"No Gary, it is a fresh, different scent. Almost as if the two had been mixed."

"But that's impossible!" Boomed Gladad. "It must be a man as well as an elf. No two bloods can be so crudely mixed, as you suggest."

Gary placed a hand on Ash's shoulder. "It must be another traveller. Come now, me must go."

Ash nodded, but I could still see him thoroughly scanning the forest with his eyes.

My heart quickened. If he could sense both the human and the elf blood then he may be able to spot me, despite my skills at remaining hidden. I may as well make my presence known to the three, or it might be too late.

Ash muttered a silent word to his horse, so soft that even my ears could not pick it up, and they began moving again.

Once more, I carefully aimed my arrow, following Ash's movements. I didn't want to shoot him, just a quick warning shot to him and the others – he just happened to be in front.

I waited for a good opening to shoot – then – I let my arrow go, listening to the swoosh of air as my arrow flew through the bush and landed a hair's width away from the elf's nose, sticking into the tree he was passing with a firm 'thwump'.

He stopped abruptly, his eyes wide with shock, as his horse reared, almost throwing him straight onto the ground. Immediately his companions drew their weapons, a strong battle-axe for the Dwarf Gladad, and a magnificent silvery sword for the man, Gary. Ash, as swift as he was, calmed down his horse before drawing a great bow and whipping out one of his red-feathered arrows.

"Who's there?" Bellowed Gladad, followed by a short snarl whilst bearing his war-axe in a threatening manner.

I fitted my bow with another arrow before stepping through the trees, holding my body as tall as I could. I had to suppress a smile when the thought crossed their mind that they had been indeed stopped by a woman – a girl in fact.

"Who are you?" I demanded, trying to look as big and intimidating as possible, aiming by bow at each of the three men in turn. "What are you doing in this forest?"

Gary, once seeing who their 'attacker' was, lowered his sword slightly and raised one of his hands. "We mean no harm. We are simply passing through."

My eyes flicked to their weapons, and Gary, following my eyes, noticed this. "If you are nothing but mere travellers, why do you carry such weaponry?"

The brunette man shrugged. "Protection. We came across many dark foes in forests like this and would have surely been killed if we did not carry such weapons."

"Lower them then!" I ordered. Gary relented, carefully sheathing his sword before motioning for the others to do the same. Gladad hesitantly put down his axe but Ash showed no sign of giving in to either mine or Gary's orders.

"We have shown you that we mean no harm. Now lower your bow."

"Not until he lowers his!" I growled, aiming my bow at Ash, feeling very tempted to shoot an arrow through his pretty face.

"Ash!" Gary shouted, turning on his elven friend. "Put down your bow!" You could clearly see the pain on the Elf's face as he forced his weapon down, aiming it instead at the forest floor. Gary smiled, then looked at me, nodding down my weapon. I lowered it slightly, but felt the need to keep my arrow notched. I wasn't sure if I trusted these men or not.

I skimmed my eyes once more over the group. "What is your business in this forest?" I asked them all, but felt myself directing the question more at Gary than any of the other two. "My King does not like people intruding on his land… especially not _humans_." I said, scowling slightly at Gary. "Trespassing is not taken lightly in these parts."

"We did not mean to trespass." Gary insisted. "We were separated from the rest of our group a few nights ago due to an unexpected orc raid. We are tracking the trail of the attackers through the forest. Have you seen them?"

"Orc? What did they look like?"

"They are goblins by nature, but more brawn and tough." Gladad said, cutting off Gary. "They are squat, broad, flat-nosed, sallow-skinned, with wide mouths and slant eyes. Have any passed in this direction?"

Gladad and Gary sounded desperate, but I shook my head sadly, "I have not seen, or heard any orcs around here. But my King may have. He sends scouts all through the forest so if any orcs have been found, he will know."

Gary sent back an appreciative, dashing smile. "Thank you. Will you be able to take us?"

I nodded back, feeling warmth spread inside me from his smile. "Of course, but I warn you – although the elf and dwarf will be able to pass without a problem, humans are not looked on in a kind light."

Hearing that, Gary forced another, weaker smile on his face, and gestured for me to lead the way.

"Where are you heading, then? It is not often that we find people passing through Tadasea."

"We are following the trail the Orcs left behind. They have taken our friends that we previously spoke of," said Gladad, dropping off his horse and into the conversation.

Ash didn't seem to be too enthusiastic about speaking to me, or even being any part of the conversation, and frankly I didn't know whether to be glad that I didn't have to speak to him or offended that he doesn't want to speak to me. But, however, he followed Gladad and elegantly slipped down from his horse, crossing his arms and giving me a suspicious, untrusting look. I didn't mind though – I didn't trust him either.

"That would explain it. Come," I said, grabbing the reins of all their horses and leading them through the bushes. "I will give your horses to a stable hand and he will look after them while you stay. The Queen has so many scouts that it may take a couple of days for her to send the message out and get the reports back. But don't worry, we can fix an accommodation for you and you can stay with us, although it is not our custom."

"Thank you." Gary smiled. I liked his smile. It made me wonder what the other two's smiles looked like. I expect Ash's would look fairly nice. If he ever did manage to smile in front of me.

I led the three men to the entrance of my village. "Twinleaf isn't much," I told them, feeling I had to explain about the tiny settlement. "It's named after the forest. The Elves here were originally from Viridian, but a small number of us set out from there and started our own little settlement here. There are only about fifty of us living here, in fact."

Ash, Gary said, was also from Viridan, which would explain some of the similarities between us; tall (although I was slightly shorter than the rest of the Elves, due to some special… reasons) and very lithe.

But... for some reason I felt there was something different about Ash, and not just because he was becoming so dangerously close to guessing my secret, but because of something else... something I couldn't quite put my finger on. It was a strange feeling, a tightening of emotion in my stomach, and I wasn't sure I liked it very much. But whenever I looked at his strangely handsome Elven face... I just felt... something!

"Fifty?" repeated Gladad, looking around from under his great bushy eyebrows. "Why I could fit this whole village under my beard!"

I laughed and Gladad looked quite proud that I had found his joke funny. "Yes, probably! As I said, it's not much…" I sighed, staring around my little forest village. "But it's home."

"You've lived here long?" asked Gary.

I turned and smiled sheepishly at him. "Long enough. I haven't always lived here… I don't really belong, but it's home to me nonetheless."

"Where did you use to live then?" I was starting to wonder why he was so curious, but soon shrugged it off as friendly conversation.

"I used to live further up North with my mother, but I didn't like it very much there – life wasn't as free you see."

Gary nodded, before turning to me and halting his two companions. "I don't believe we've been introduced."

"No, we haven't" I agreed, and, being the gentleman that the other two probably weren't, Gary introduced himself and the others, then asked for my name.

"I am Gary, son of Silver Oak. This is Gladad, son of Balgrim and Ash of Viridian Forest. And you are?"

"I am Dawn, an Elf of Tadasea Wood." What was wrong with a small white lie? What they didn't know couldn't hurt them, although that Elf Ash… he was hazardously close to finding out my secret, even though we had just met. If he found out then my whole human-hating town would, then I would be ridiculed and banished from my home if anyone learned my secret! The truth is, I wasn't fully elf… I was part elf…

But also part human.

**First chapter done and dusted!**

**Again, please show support for this new story and give me some feedback! After two weeks if I decide to take the story down, I'll write a short note about it. If you see no note in two weeks' time, you can expect a new chapter… soon… I hope.**

**About the names:**

**You may be confused with the name of the woods, which is 'Tadasea'. But, there is a method behind my madness!**

**This word can be split into two parts, 'tad' and 'asea'.**

**In elvish, 'tad' means two, or even twin, and 'asea' means leaf. You can get what I'm hinting at right? Well, if you can't, 'Tadasea' is basically 'Twinleaf' in elvish. If you don't know what Twinleaf is, then oh dear.**

**Please review this story and tell me what you think.**

**Until next time!**

**~Dreamcrafter**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone! **

**Firstly, thanks for the support in my last chapter, I really appreciate it. In fact, I appreciate it so much that I've released this chapter extra early :D**

**This is the longest chapter I've written, ever! Even though it's only around 5,100 words long :S So sorry if it drags on a bit, and please tell me if you want chapters to stay the same, be longer or shorter.**

**Sorry this is up at a strange time, I just finished watching the football, and am NOT in a very good mood.**

**Just to clarify, 'Tadasea' is the name of the forest, 'Twinleaf' is the name of the Elven settlement there. Also if you are not clear yet:**

**Ash – Elf**

**Gary – Human**

**Gladad – Dwarf**

**Dawn – Half-Elf (part elf and part human)**

"I am Dawn, an Elf of Tadasea Wood." What was wrong with a small white lie? What they didn't know wouldn't hurt them. But that Elf, Ash… he was dangerously close to finding out my secret, and we had only just met. If he found out then soon my whole human-hating town would. So what was wrong with the tiny lie that I wasn't fully an Elf but part-Elf and part-human? I would be ridiculed and banished from my home if anyone learned my secret! I didn't know what the race of man had ever done to my King, but I wasn't sure I wanted to find out.

Sighing quietly to myself, I pushed back these depressing thoughts to the back of my mind, as we entered the more than familiar surroundings of my village.

I loved the Elven village of Twinleaf. It wasn't anything like Eterna, Viridian or even Tawarost, whose buildings were all white and elegant, only but a few masterpieces of Elven architecture. Twinleaf was different. It didn't necessarily look like something out of a fairy-tale. It fitted in with nature – the wooden cabins that we called home seemed to merge out of the trees, the leafy branches twisting together to make roofs and the sturdy trunks and roots forming the foundations and walls. The only building that looks vaguely like something out of a great elven city was where the King lived. We didn't have an Elder or village chief, or whatever. We had chosen ourselves a King, whose small palace truly was like something straight out of Eterna. It was tall, almost taller than the lush trees surrounding Twinleaf, and was a dazzling pure white colour. Well, it used to be – now there were so many vines and leaves crawling over its walls that the actual stone was getting quite hard to see.

"I'll take you straight to see the King," I informed them, as we strolled through the village with a rather strict aura that simply said 'I mean business', and ignoring all the strange looks I was getting from the other inhabitants. I could only imagine what they must be thinking of me; _Letting strangers into our village! What's that girl gone and done now? It's bad enough that she forced herself to be a scout, and now she's not even doing her duty properly! Typical of her._

I couldn't wait to leave. Don't get me wrong, I loved Twinleaf with all my heart, truly I did, but yet I couldn't wait to be rid of it. It was such a tedious place! So calm and so secluded… there was no action, no change! The real reason I had brought in these strangers was because of the secret hope that they would take me with them. I couldn't stand to breathe another breath in this place.

And I'd probably have to, if they found out that is… I was enough of an outcast already; I couldn't have them discover the truth about me.

I led our group to the stables and asked one of the stable hands to stable and feed all of the horses. The young boy agreed without a word, but he gave us a very curious look as we left for the palace.

We made our way through the less-than-busy village, right to the back of Twinleaf, where the King's palace stood, tall and proud. There were guards by the entrance and they glared at me as I passed, the temptation to strip us all of our weapons visible in their eyes. It wasn't law to be made to leave all weaponry outside the palace, but those guards seemed so protective over our precious King that they often made us.

The inside of the palace was as glamorous as the outside – magnificent pillars stood near the walls, an open roof let sunshine peek in and spread out across the cold stone floors, and a beautifully carved throne stood at the back of the large circular room. Sitting on this great throne was what I had heard a lot of women describe the most handsome they had ever seen, a man who could calm raging storms with his glance and tame the wildest of beasts with his melody. Someone who could turn the coldest of winters into the warmest of springs, or the darkest of nights into the brightest of mornings. But our King was not all he appeared to be. He had the fiercest of hatreds for one thing and one thing only – humans. Men, women, even children;he despised the lot, if they were from that wretched race. I only hope that Gary would survive his meeting.

"I am Úllothona, King of Twinleaf, of Tadasea Wood. Come forward, my child of the forest. Bring with you the Elf, Dwarf, and… man." He seemed to growl to himself, his handsome face contorting slightly with disgust and anger, but he managed to compose himself to his usual Kingly state.

"Your Majesty," I purred, bowing down low to him with a great sweeping motion of my arm. He smiled at the admiration. "These three men have travelled far, in search for their friends. They seek to ask you a favour – if you would be so kind as to call in your many scouts around Tadasea Wood and ask them all of their sightings."

"This still does not explain why you have brought a human into our realm!" The King bristled angrily. "You know how I feel about the race of men, Dawn!"

"Yes, my lord, and I apologise," I replied, a slight hint of nervousness entering my voice. My King, although mighty and handsome as he was, was terrifying when he was angry. "But I felt their intentions were true and I felt no need to deny them our hospitality and passage through the town. They are following an Orc trail, my lord."

"I see," the King regarded the man, elf and dwarf with something close to contempt. "Well, travellers, will you bestow upon me the honour of knowing your names?"

"Yes my King." Gary bowed low. "I am Gary, son of Silver Oak. This is Gladad, son of Balgrim and Ash of Viridian Forest."

"And what is your business in Hearthrome, Gary son of Silver?" the King asked, some of the contempt leaving his voice. He had obviously been charmed by Gary's…well charms.

"We are hoping to find our friends there, or somewhere along the way, my lord." Gary answered politely, though I could tell he was beginning to get uncomfortable with all the questions.

"Right." The King said. A silence hung in the air for a moment before I broke it tentatively.

"Um, my lord… these men have been travelling all day and I'm sure they are exhausted…?" I trailed off, the unasked question hanging in the air.

"Yes, yes, go on, take them to their quarters." The King waved his hand in the air impatiently, dismissing us.

I bowed again before turning around and making my way out of the hall and led Gary, Ash and Gladad to the upstairs floor, along a narrow corridor, leading to the palace's guest quarters.

"Dawn?" Gary said tentatively as I hurried down the corridors.

I didn't answer, but stopped so abruptly outside one of the doors that Gladad walked into Ash, almost causing him to fall over. I reached out an arm to steady him, avoiding his gaze.

"Thank you," Ash muttered. I didn't reply.

I could see Gary about to ask me whatever he was just now, so I interrupted before he could – I didn't know what he was about to ask but I didn't get a good feeling from the tone of his voice.

"This is where you will be staying," I told them, pointing to the room I had stopped beside. "If you need anything then please feel free to ask me, and dinner is whenever you feel hungry." I turned to leave down the hall again, ignoring their rather bewildered looks. "Oh, and Gary?" I added, turning to him. "I would keep with the Elf if I were you, because the Elves here might not be so happy about a human staying here. The Dwarf should be fine though." As I finished that sentence I couldn't help but to flick my eyes over to Ash for a fraction of a second, just to study his reaction.

He was watching me too, but not in a studious manner. It was more of an accusing stare and as our eyes bored into each other's I could feel my face and neck tinge with uncomfortable heat.

"Wait, Dawn," Gary called, reaching out to place a strong hand on my shoulder, pulling me around to face him. "I didn't feel the King was clear. Will he be able to collect in the information from his scouts? We desperately need this, to save the lives of our friends."

I couldn't help but smile at Gary's sweet concern for their friends – whoever they were, they were pretty lucky to have three friends such as Gary, Gladad, and Ash. "Of course he will. As I said before, it may take a couple of days for him to gather the information in, so until then you are permitted to live here. Anyway, I must be off now. I must go back and patrol the forest again. But it was lovely meeting you all." _And it would be lovely if I could join you on your journey out_, I wanted to add but refrained myself from doing so. It was too soon.

"But, wait-!" Gary once again tried to pry more information from me, but I was already off down the hallway, pretending that I was too far away to hear.

I ran my hand across the smooth wooden banister as I turned into the long winding stairwell, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Gladad place a meaty, comforting hand on Ash's wrist.

"What is wrong, my friend?" I heard Gladad say to Ash under his breath. "Does something trouble you?"

Ash sighed, and I could still feel his intense glare burning holes into my back. "There is something not quite right about that girl... but I can't decipher what it may be."

A small smile curled on my lips but my brow was furrowed with worry.

**~0~**

It was the early hours of the morning when a sharp knock at my door cruelly tore me from the world of sleep. The mornings were beautiful here in Twinleaf; the sun lit up the whole forest, peeking through the lush green trees and dappling the leaf-littered floor. The grey tinge that night spread across the wood, making the shadows seem sinister and the silence sound deafening, was immediately obliterate and replaced with a warm orange glow of daybreak, brightening anything that it dawned upon. The wooden houses that looked gloomy and discoloured at night now were lit up with rich greens and browns, and the magnificent palace of King Úllothona shone a silver Elvish radiance across the town, adding to the light of day.

Twinleaf really was beautiful – except when you were woken at the break of dawn, before any of this beauty had really taken place. Then it was just plain annoying.

I rolled over in my bed, causing the thin mattress beneath me to creak and shift under my weight. I groaned and pulled myself to my feet, and – still weary with sleep – stumbled over to the door. I opened it and glared through bleary eyes at my guest.

"Hello?" I asked, my speech slurring as I yawned.

The Elf at my door looked as fresh and bright as any other Elf, such as myself, would at midday. I not sure whether he knew what time it was, because the fact the sun was barely visible through the trees had obviously not given him any clue.

"The King requests your presence immediately," he told me with an almost mocking tone.

I scowled at him. "Thank you. But may I suggest to you that next time you wake someone up when the sun has barely risen over the mountain, whether it is a message from the King or not, do us all a favour and don't. Okay?" I took in his expression quickly (stopping myself from smirking until he had gone) and promptly slammed the door in his face.

I badly wanted to crawl back into my bed and sleep for another few hours but I knew that wasn't an option. He had been soft on me when I had brought Gary into our realm, but I wasn't so sure that he would let me off so easily if I disobeyed him again. So, grudgingly, I pulled on my clothes, grabbed my bow and quiver, and then set off through the town to the King's palace.

"You called, your Majesty?" I asked, kneeling down on one knee and bowing my head before him.

"Stand, young one," he said, wavering her hand in the air. "I did indeed call you, Dawn, for I wish you to take care of our guests. I have accumulated the first bits of information from my scouts and I wish for you to present it to them. You shall do this regularly, so it would be easier for you to stay with me while you look after your travellers. I have a room ready. From now on you shall care for their every need, their every whim and will. You shall serve them what they wish and shall look after them for the remainder of their stay. You shall be their servant until they leave."

Úllothona motioned with his hand and one of one of his maidens that stood about his throne stepped forward with a bundle fresh clothes and set them within my arms. Another handed me a jug of water and a couple of cloths for washing, and finally a small basket filled with bread, cheese, wine, and fruits, was hung upon my wrist. By the time they were done handing me things I was so laden I could barely walk.

"You shall bring these to your new masters, with the sad message that no trace of the Orcs have been found yet, but many of my scouts have still not yet reported back to me, so have hope. Water and washing cloths have already been sent up, but give them these anyway."

I nodded and began to gingerly make my way up the stairs. "Yes, your Majesty," I said with slight scorn, and the jug of water wobbled dangerously in my arms as I stepped up higher.

"Oh, and Dawn? Keep an eye on that human, will you? He may have managed to charm you into trusting him, but he still a human and humans are never good news."

"Of course, your Majesty."

After what seemed like an age I had finally made my way to the top of the stairs without dropping anything or spilling any water, and had just started along the long corridor when I bumped into Gladad.

"Hello, miss Dawn!" he said in his cheerful booming voice. "You seem a little laden there. Allow me to help you."

I smiled down appreciatively at the Dwarf. I really did like Gladad, and I'm sure that when I hopefully managed to leave with the three Gladad and I would get along fine.

Before I could answer he took the water and cloths from me and slipped the basket of food from my wrist. "No woman should have to be forced into such labour when there is a man to help her, I feel," he explained.

I laughed. "Thank you, master Gladad, that's incredibly kind of you. A man can go far with that kind of logic. I'll be round in a minute with your clean clothes, but for now I must visit master Gary and master Ash." I felt obliged to add the title of master to their names, now that I was being forced to be their servant. But I didn't mind really; it was really just a chance for me to become friendly with the three, and heighten my chances of joining them in their quest. "Thank you again for helping me, though."

"No problem, Miss Dawn. Any time."

Gladad left and I carried on down the corridor until I came to Ash's room. I pushed open the door open and my mouth dropped. He was standing beside his bed, shirtless, and washing his body.

Smooth skin stretched taut over rippling muscle, wet with water. He wiped a soaking cloth across the top of his chest and water came trickling out, dripping at different speeds down his hard chest and stomach. He then squeezed out the remaining water onto one of his arms, and I could see his biceps flexing as he squeezed the cloth dry. I half expected the water on the cloth to sizzle into steam when it made contact with his skin.

Ash dipped the cloth in a ceramic jug of water and ran it across his impressive body once more, stretching up his head to wash his sinewy neck. Some of his long black hair got caught under the cloth and was left glistening and wet.

I couldn't take my eyes off him. I mean, I barely liked him... but watching him now – like _this_! – was just... _breath-taking_. It made my heart beat wildly and my body start to get hot beneath my clothes. I could feel my face flush a deep crimson colour and that strange tight feeling that I had felt in my stomach was back, and stronger than ever. I just wanted to jump him and run my hands across his body! It was infuriating!

"Do you have something for me, or are you going to loiter in the doorway all day?" he asked in his silky voice, snapping me back into reality and making me jump. My heart beat faster, but this time not because of his half-naked attire but because of him startling me so much.

"Oh, um, yes!" I blurted out a little too quickly, my words overlapping each other. I cleared my throat, attempting to lower and calm my voice. "Sorry, yes, I do. I have, um, clothes. For you. From the King. I didn't mean to intrude in on you washing, but I, er... I did. By accident, of course! I wasn't spying on you, or anything," I added quickly, just in case he thought I was.

Ash chuckled coolly and grabbed a towel from his bed to dry himself off. "Do you ever stop talking?" he mused to himself, not expecting an answer from me.

I felt a surge of anger within me but ignored it and fumbled forward, handing him his clothes. He slipped his arms underneath the bundle to take it from me and as he did so his arm brushed against mine. I tried to hold in my gasp but a small noise escaped me. Ash heard me and raised his eyebrow, giving me a strange look. I looked away.

He unfolded the clothes and slipped a silvery undershirt – not dissimilar to the one he had arrived in – over his head, followed by a green-brown suede tunic (again, looking slightly similar to the one he had before). Then he picked up his bow and began to study it, occasionally polishing the dark wood with his sleeve.

"Thank you," he said, not looking up at me – apparently the lustrousness of his bow was far more interesting than actually speaking to my face. "You don't need to stand there all day though."

I had to bite my lip from lashing out at him. The King would have it in for me if attacked a guest, especially a fellow Elf.

"Of course," I growled through clenched teeth, and left him to himself.

**~0~**

I saw Gary readjusting the stirrups on his horse behind the stables and bravely walked up to him. I had been mulling silently on when – or how – I should ask him about joining their quest.

"Gary," I called to him softly, and he looked up. My voice was quavering slightly and my heart fluttered within my chest. What if he said no? What if he laughed at me?

What if he said yes?

Smiling, he finished with the stirrups and began packing a couple more things into the drawstring bags hanging from his saddle. "I suppose you've come to see us off then?" he asked. I assumed Ash and Gladad were still inside gathering their things.

I nodded, ignoring my little lie. Because it was true, really. I was here to see them off. Except I was going to be going with him… hopefully. "Oh, uh… yeah, I have." I bit my lip and looked away. "Hey, listen… do you think I could ask you something?"

He smiled again, his young yet wizened face crinkling as he grinned. "Of course you can, Dawn!"

I took a deep breath. "Well, first of all, I want to apologise. I'm sorry our scouts couldn't give you much information on your friends. I wish I could have been more help to you."

Gary laughed and the cheerful sound warmed me. "Nonsense, Miss Dawn! Without you and your King's scouts then we wouldn't have found the Orc trail! Hopefully they're the same Orcs that kidnapped our friends. You've been plenty of help!"

I blushed at his admiration. "I still can be help!" I told him insistently. "I can still help you! All you have to do is bring me with you!"

Gary slowed his packing and stared at me. "Dawn… you can't really be serious, can you?" he said, and for a second I thought I literally felt my heart shatter.

I nodded dejectedly. "Why? Don't you want me to come with you? Do you think I'm going to hold you back? Because I promise I won't! I'm a good fighter, honest! And I can cook, and I can–"

"Dawn, please. This isn't about that!"

I sniffed, looking away embarrassedly. "You're mad at me. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

Gary sighed and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Oh, Dawn. I'm not mad at you. I just… I don't think it's a good idea, that's all." He stared at my forlorn expression and groaned. "Please stop staring at me like that, Dawn. It's making it really hard." I continued to stare at him and he sighed. "Fine. I'll ask Ash and Gladad, and I'll see what they think. I would love for you to come. I just… we'll see."

I grinned at him. "Thank you, Gary! You won't regret this!" I yelped happily as I embraced him with a hug.

"I might…" he muttered in a joking tone and patted my back. "But it's not certain. I still need to ask the others about it."

I coughed awkwardly and pulled back. "Right, right. Of course."

"You want to come with us?" Ash asked me dryly, pacing the room slightly. Gladad sat on the bed behind him and I sat awkwardly in a wicker chair near the door. Gary was leaning rigidly against the door frame. "Gary, you can't honestly be considering about letting her come!"

"I'm sorry, Ash. But have you thought for even a moment that she might actually be an asset, rather than a liability?"

"No! That's because she won't be an asset! Look, we've already been delayed here for longer than enough! We might lose the trail if we wait too long!"

"Ash, please," Gary tried to reason. "What do you have against her?"

The Elf stopped abruptly and tried to refrain from staring at me. He tried to ignore that I was in the room. "There's something not quite right about her. Something… mortal."

I tensed, my whole body quivering nervously. He couldn't really… I had been living here for over 1,500 years and nobody had ever figured me out! Their own Elven scent had masked the human essence in mine… so what was so special about him? What made him so smart?

My lips pursed at his rudeness. I may have been scared that he was going to figure me out, but that didn't mean I couldn't get annoyed at him for having no manners. I was about to stand up and shout at him, my temper getting the better of me, but I knew this wasn't the time. I had to be good.

"W-what are you saying?" I managed to stammer out, standing up to face him. He glared at me, staring deep into my eyes. My heart jolted.

"I'm saying you're not who you claim you are," he growled. Gary and Gladad glanced between themselves, and then at us.

He walked slowly towards me, standing close. I could the heat of his body washing lightly against me. Then, almost suddenly, it felt like that no one else was here. That it was just me and him.

Ash stared down at me almost accusingly. He grabbed up my wrist and studied it, rubbing his thumb lightly over my veins. "What are you?" he murmured, his intense eyes boring deep into mine.

I gulped. "I'm- I'm an Elf," I insisted weakly, feeling a slight sheen of sweat come across my forehead.

He didn't seem to fully believe me. "That may be… but there is more than Elf blood running through these veins." As he said this he ran his nail down one of the blue veins showing on my wrist. I gasped as I felt his cold finger press down on my hand, my heart pounding throughout my body from his touch, beating so fast and so hard that it was almost like it was trying to escape.

A sharp hand jerked him away from me, snapping me out of my nervous stupor. Gary glared at him. "Ahs," he said sternly, digging his fingers into the Elf's shoulder, "stop it. You're upsetting her."

Ash threw his hand off. "Gary, these modern comforts have dulled your senses and instincts. You should be able to sense it to." His voice was cold and it sent a shuddering ripple of shivers across my skin. "It can't just be me, I know you sense it, and so do you! There's something not right about her! There's something…" he looked to me, his eyes frozen and stony, as if he was trying to read my mind. Then his keen brown eyes widened slightly and he took a deep breath – it was almost as if he was smelling – or even tasting – the air. Finally he spoke again. "Human."

I froze, grabbing onto the arm of my wicker chair to stay upright. Slowly, I lowered myself back into it. All three of the men were staring at me and it was making me even more uncertain and nervous than I was before.

"Dawn?" Gladad asked in his deep voice, but I didn't answer. I just stared ahead, my eyes fixed on the wall.

Now it was Gary's turn to interrogate me. Because Ash had been right. Ash had known that something was wrong with me. "Dawn… what does he mean by that?" he asked, hesitance in his voice.

My eyes felt wet, but I wasn't going to cry. I never did, so why did I want to now?. "I- I-" I stuttered, a moment of panic festering inside my stomach. What was I to say? Yes, the annoying Elf I hate is actually right for once, and I'm actually some part-Elf-part-human hybrid girl. Because that's really going to go down well.

"Dawn…" Gary said again in a warning tone. "Dawn, please. Tell us. We can't allow you to come with us unless you tell us."

I sighed, and then took a deep breath. I couldn't hide it now. I couldn't hide it any longer. "My mother was an Elf," I told, now staring sheepishly at the floor. "And my father…" another deep breath, flicking my gaze between the three men. "Was a human."

There was a moment of silence. I expected nothing less.

"So you mean…" Gladad started, trailing off, "that… you're a- a-"

"A hybrid," Ash finished off for him coldly. "You've deceived every Elf in this town, and you've deceived us. Have you no pride?"

This last comment made me angry. "Of course I have pride! The only reason I kept this a secret was because I have pride!"

"The reason you kept this to yourself was because of cowardice! How dare you claim you have pride! How dare you even claim yourself to be an Elf!"

"Ash, calm yourself!" Gary snapped, his brow furrowed. He turned to me. "I suppose we'll have to take you now." He sighed.

"We can't take her!" Ash protested, pleading to his human friend. "She'd mess everything up, and slow us down! We'll never save our friends with her around!"

I clenched my fists around the wicker chair arms to stop myself from lashing out at him. I was in hot enough water already.

"Well, we can't leave her," Gary reasoned calmly. "You saw how they treated me when the King saw I was a human!"

"I can help, I really can!" I added on to his words.

Ash was stubborn with his hatred for me. "No, we're not taking her!"

Now it was Gladad's turn to try and calm the Elf. "Ash, please. This really isn't the time for some petty, childish rivalry."

"Gladad's right, Ash. Dawn needs to come. If you managed to figure her out in merely a couple of days, then there's no knowing when the other inhabitants of Twinleaf will figure it out! She'll be run out of town! Ash, we have to take her with us. We have to save her from that fate."

"She's not coming," Ash repeated stubbornly. "She can't just come so she can escape her own problems here."

I sighed, just as Gary was about to argue my case again. I held up a hand to silence him. "No, he's right," I told them all dejectedly, and they all stared at me with astonishment and surprise in their faces. "Ash is right. I can't just leave with you to escape my own problems. But as much as I hate to admit it, I still want to come. And even if I was a normal Elf, then I would still love to come. So please. If I can't come with you as a companion..." I knelt down on my knees, bowing to my masters, "…then I'll join you as your servant."

**Dun dun duuun…**

**Haha, hope you all enjoyed this chapter, the next one won't be up for some time and hopefully that will be around 10k.**

******Also, thanks to my friend, she helped me write the bit with Dawn walking in on Ash :P**

**Also, if you have any ideas/suggestions, please tell me and I may or may not use it :D **

**Please leave what time I should update it, I have really obscure times that I update stories so they basically get no views.**

**Please, please review the story, it really helps motivate me to get the next chapter done quicker. The more reviews, the more frequent the updates and the more you guys get to read. Everyone wins, right?**

**Until next time!**

**~DreamCrafter**


	3. Chapter 3

**Happy Mother's Day yesterday to all the mothers out there (if there are any XD) :D**

**Here's the third chapter to my story everyone. I've been getting PMs asking me about the language of this story, as you can probably all tell, it's not your everyday use of English. That's because this story is a bit 'Old Fashioned', so the language is like that of around the 1950s. If you want me to write differently, all you have to do is let me know! **

**Like the last chapter, this is around about 5,000 words and I'll keep the chapters this length unless there are any complaints.**

**I've put this in an A/N previously, but I'll put it again, most of the characters (especially Ash) are OOC, and there aren't any Pokemon in this…yet. Also, tell me about what you think of the vocabulary, I found it hard to describe things with different words this chapter haha.**

**Oh yeah, also before I forget, I'm going to be writing a oneshot soon, and was just wondering – Pearlshipping or Cavaliershipping?**

**So, back to where we left off …**

"Ash is right," I told them, accepting their wide-eyed and astonished stares grudgingly. "I can't just leave with you to escape my own problems. But as much as I hate to admit it, I still want to come. And even if I was a normal Elf, then I would still love to come. So please. If I can't come with you as a companion..." I knelt down on my knees, bowing to my masters, "…then I'll join you as your servant."

I could feel their eyes boring into my back with such heat that I almost couldn't bear it. I just knelt before them, my body trembling.

"Dawn… you don't need to do this," Gary muttered softly, kneeling down in front of me and placing a hand on my hair. I looked up at him, my eyes glittering with emotion and tears.

"I do. If I stay here then I'll die, and if I don't offer my services as your servant then I won't be able to come." I took a deep breath, swallowing my embarrassment and pride – I was going to have to serve Ash, and the thought of him being one of my masters pained me. "So if these are the consequences of my companionship… then I accept them."

A couple of tears trickled from my eyes, their saltiness stinging my cheek and splattering against my hand. My joints felt stiff for bowing down to them for so long, and my hair was sticking to my wet cheeks. My only comfort was Gary's warm hand pressed against my head.

"You're a brave girl, Dawn, and I know that it is not right for the honourable race of Elves to bow down to the lesser of men and Dwarves. It must be hard for you to do this… but, considering the circumstances, this may be our only choice, taking you with us. You don't need to work for us though."

"I do!" I insisted, struggling to keep my voice low. "I do need to work for you! The King put me in charge of looking after you, so that's what I must do. Besides… it wouldn't feel right for me to come along without paying you back in some way."

Gary, after giving me a hard stare for a good couple of minutes, smiled and stood up. In that instant the warmth of his touch was gone. He held out his hand to me and pulled me up. "Okay," he said and immediately began to grin appreciatively before he had even finished his sentence, "you can come. But on one condition–" he pulled my arm and drew me towards him, whispering pleadingly into my ear, "please, just _try_ to get along with him?" he grinned and winked at me, but I could tell he was serious.

"You have my word, master," I replied, bowing with a hand over my heart.

**~0~**

I clutched onto Gary in fear as his horse jolted. "You have obviously never ridden before, then, miss Dawn!" he laughed, but I was too scared to get annoyed at him.

I shook my head, my cheek pressed against his back in fear. "No. I haven't. I don't think I ever want to again." I was fine with looking after horses, and being near them, and such – but when it came to riding them? No. Just no.

He pulled a mock-sympathetic face and patted his horses' cheek. "He's lovely, Dawn. He would never hurt you." His horse gave a sweet whiny to add to Gary's words, as if to show he really meant it.

I let my hand drop from his side to stroke the great beast. I suppose he really wasn't that ba-

There was a noise and the horse reared again, making me grab instinctively to Gary's cloak and squeeze him around the waist, to stop from falling off. Then he calmed and whinnied an apology.

Gary coughed, choking slightly from lack of air. "Um, miss Dawn. I– I can't breathe with you squeezing me like that."

I realised I was still holding him and immediately let go, blushing a bright red. "Sorry. I'll try to keep calm."

Gladad and Ash laughed and I felt even more embarrassed now. "I wouldn't worry about the horses, Dawn! I'm not a rider myself, but I suppose once you find the right horse then riding becomes quite pleasant." He patted the dark cheek of his stallion and it rubbed its head against his large hand.

I pulled a face. "I suppose so. But I don't think I want to try too many horses, just to find the right one. I think I'll stick to walking, thank you very much."

A light chuckle caught my attention, but one so quiet that only my Elf ears would be able to hear it. I whipped around and saw Ash smiling to himself, although he was staring ahead and seemed oblivious to my interest at him.

I studied him, listening and watching intently for any slight sound or movement he made.

He had an unusually tanned face, and his voice was clear as he sang to himself an Elven song, unfamiliar to me but beautiful just the same.

I kept darting glances at him, trying to read how he was feeling. He managed to read everyone around him, but when it came to figuring out him... it was impossible. But I suppose that just added to the list of reasons why I hated him. Everything about him was impossible, even just understanding him.

_He_ was impossible.

I looked back at the town which was once my home and emotion made my body clench.

"Going to miss it?" Ash had ridden up beside us while in my trance, and I pulled my hand off Gary's back, brushing back my hair. He was still staring at the path ahead though, almost as if he didn't particularly want to look at me. That was okay with me though – I didn't want to look at him. Well, not much at least. He may be a dooche, but he certainly wasn't an ugly one. Quite the opposite, in fact.

I snorted laugher and tore away my gaze. "Ha! Not likely," I lied. And with one last lingering look at Twinleaf, Gary flicked the reins of his horse and we rode off through the thick forest.

It was hard for the horses to travel between the trees and thicket, so after a couple of hours (much to my joy) I asked Gary to stop so I could travel on foot, and Ash got off his horse too. We bounded ahead to scour the route for any signs of danger, and to make sure we were still on the Orc's trail – being Elves it was easy for us to travel through the woods. Even so, I was starting to think we were lost.

In my boredom, I began to sing a song in the common tongue. A song my mother used to sing when we walked together in the forest, as a token of good luck, to make sure we didn't get lost. I felt we could use it now.

A couple of minutes and began to hum the tune to myself. Then I began to add in the words.

_Where darkness falls, where stars are dim,_

_Where skies are cloudy grey,_

_When hope is lost, when hearts are grim,_

_A traveller's lost his way._

_His clothes are worn, no paths are found,_

_Limbs frozen from the cold,_

_He sees a light, there comes sound,_

_A horse of shining gold._

_With mane of silk, and kindly eyes,_

_And coat shimmering yellow,_

_He'll carry you from dusk 'till dawn,_

_Over rock, or brine, or meadow_

_When peering through a shroud of black,_

_Or at the edge of night,_

_Look forward to the warming glow,_

_A horse of golden light._

I gently sang the song to a close, my cheeks flushing red. It had only just occurred to me that the muttered chatter going on between my masters had faded slowly while I sang and they had all been listening intently.

"That's a good song," complimented Gladad after a couple of moments of silence. "What's it about?"

I was about to answer but Ash replied for me, thankfully. I didn't want to have to explain it, but was surprised that he'd actually heard of the old folk song.

"This song was about a legendary horse, shining gold in colour as the lyrics suggested, that roamed through Kanto and Johto, mainly near Viridian. It was said to help all travellers that had lost their way, when travelling through the night. It would approach them and take them back home, or nearer to their destination. People sing it when travelling to ward off bad omens and spirits that wish for them to lose their way." He smirked and sent me a glance that caused my heart to flutter within me and that stole the breath straight from my lungs. "Or in other words, Gary, I think Dawn is suggesting that you've led us wrong and that we're lost."

He chuckled and the breathless feeling that his look had left me with was gone. Gladad laughed and, even though Ash irritated me, I couldn't help but giggle a bit at his joke. Gary rolled his eyes.

"We are not lost!" he protested, laughing along with us. "This forest may not be the biggest one around, but it still does take a hell of a long time to navigate your way through it!"

Ash grinned again, and I couldn't help but notice how handsome he looked when he smiled.

After that we all stayed silent. Another couple of hours passed by and we had still gotten barely anywhere.

"Dawn, Ash," Gary called to us. We made our way through forest back to him and scowled at each other when we stopped side-by-side in front of him.

We had been travelling in Tadasea Forest for at least a couple of days and were only now even nearing the edge of the forest – there was still a couple more days travel left to go. (Not that it was a large forest, but the trees were so thick and closely packed together, and the ground was so uneven, that it still took just as long.)

"There's been a bit of a problem." I side-glanced to Ash and saw him raise a thin ebony eyebrow at Gary. "We don't know what's ahead of us, but we think it would be best to leave the horses behind, here. They're struggling enough as it is."

I looked behind him to where Gladad was silently stroking and calming his poor horse – me and Ash had given up riding them because we – being Elves – found it easier and faster to make our way through the forest on foot.

I immediately pitied the creatures. "But we can't leave them here! I know I don't like them that much… but that's cruel! They'll never survive!"

Gary sighed at me. "Dawn, we must leave them. We can get more at the next town we come across; it would be cruel not to leave them, and make them carry us into danger. Besides, we don't know what terrains we would come across, and they might not make it. They would only slow us down. Gladad and I are going to head back and find a good place to leave them – you two will go on ahead, and will leave a trail for us to follow. Make sure there is no danger ahead, but don't leave the forest. Keep an eye on the Orcs and make sure we don't lose their trail. I hate to leave you two alone, and I know it is dangerous with the Orcs about, but it would be cruel to let these horses go in an area where they will not survive. Besides, I know you two can look after yourselves. Keep her safe, Ash."

I didn't know if Ash was going to say it, but I sure was. "Gary, you can't leave me with _him_!"

"Dawn, I hate to make you remember this, but I am one of your masters. So please, do what I say. You are obliged to, as payment for your company. You said so yourself." I was about to complain more but I stopped abruptly. I had never heard Gary speak so sternly. I actually felt… scared. "Ash will look after you while we are gone." His wizened eyes were tired but restless, and he smiled grimly at me. "Stop your fretting, Miss Dawn; we will leave for no more than a couple of days."

I groaned audibly, but Ash stayed silent. This really annoyed me. Why didn't he speak? "You promise for no longer than a couple of days?" I asked him, holding down my anger and annoyance.

Gary smiled at me, pressing a hand against his chest, and I immediately felt calmer. "You have my word, Miss Dawn." He turned and joined Gladad, swinging himself up onto his horse and grabbing the reins of the Ash's rider-less one. Together they left us.

Gary was smart, and I really did respect him, but I honestly didn't think that this was one of his greatest ideas.

Awkward silence choked the air. "So…" I started, pressing my lips together. He started to walk forward and I ran after him. "We don't need to… talk, do we?"

"No. We don't need to talk. Besides, I highly doubt that a hybrid like you would have anything interesting to say in the first place."

Don't kill him. Don't kill him. Whatever you do, Dawn, just don't kill him, no matter how much that bloody, too-good Elf deserves it. Killing is morally wrong.

"And what's that supposed to mean!" I shouted at him, furiously clenching my fists together so hard that my nails dug painfully into the flesh of my palm. Screw morals, that freaking jerk***** is going to get what's coming to him.

He turned and stared at me, his eyes emotionless and cold. "It means that you don't want to talk to me and I don't want to talk to you. I would have thought that was vaguely obvious."

I frowned at him, baring my teeth. "You're despicable."

**~0~**

"Dawn, come here," Ash ordered after an hour or two of rest and then a couple more hours of silent travel. He had gone on ahead slightly so I ran to catch up.

"What is it?" I asked and he nodded to the forest floor. I stared at it or a couple of minutes – I couldn't track, so I had no idea what was so important.

"The Orcs… there seems to be signs of a few of them breaking from the group and making their way back through the forest. We'll need to look out for them as we continue. They may know we're here, and have sent a group to look around Tadasea to find us."

I blinked confusedly. "And… that's bad?"

Ash rolled his eyes at me and sighed. "Yes, Dawn, that's bad. It means that we might encounter some Orcs as we travel further, and Gary and Gladad might be delayed if they meet them. We need to be on guard."

I nodded, heat tingeing my neck. Of course that was bad! Why did I never think before I opened my mouth? Was that some strange side effect to be being half-Elf and half-human?

Maybe Ash was right? Maybe I was a hybrid? Oh well, I suppose I was going to have to live with it, just as I was going to have to live with him. I'd managed for around 2,000 years, I'm sure I can live with it for the rest of my immortal life.

**~0~**

As the sun gently lowered itself, my eyes began to droop. Every so often I would look over to Ash, hoping to see the effects of little sleep in his Elven face but somehow he remained still and silent… and widely awake, much to my disappointment. Like an ancient statue, carved out of white marble by one of the most talented artists.

I hated it. Why did someone who was horrible and rude and annoying to me get to be so damn… handsome? I know all Elves were meant to be beautiful, but he… he was just… godly. Breath-taking. There were whole manner of words to describe him, but none of them could capture his elegance completely.

And besides, if I was going to suffer from lack of sleep, I wanted him to too.

I sighed audibly to myself but Ash didn't even glance at me. Life was hard when you hated the most handsome man you had ever seen.

I had drifted so far into my thoughts that when Ash's voice suddenly broke me out of my reverie it almost made me jump. I shivered from the cold, now awake enough to feel the sharp freezing air settling uncomfortably on my skin.

"Do you want to stop?" he asked, the first sign of sincerity in his voice since we had first spoken. He didn't look at all worn out or weary, but I had been starting to feel the strain of long travel since many hours ago. I had been determined not to show any signs of weariness to Ash, but he seemed to have noticed. It made me wonder how long he had known.

"No," I told him stonily, anxiously thinking that my stubbornness might one day be my downfall. "I'm not tired at all. But... if you are, then we might as well rest. For your sake."

He laughed quietly and I could barely see his expression through the darkness. "Then we'll rest. For my sake," he added, his tone choked with sarcasm. He made me want to bloody choke him.

I felt angry at Gary and Gladad. How could they leave me alone with... with _him_! Ash was just so infuriating and proud! Yet he acted perfectly normal and quiet around the other two. What was so special about me that made us both want to shoot an arrow through each other's throats?

We slipped off our packs and sat on the ground, each of us rooting through them until we came to the items we needed for a comfortable (enough) night's sleep.

"Nuuta!" I heard him growl angrily, falling into our own tongue. (Nuuta means damn in Elvish.)

I was slightly concerned now. "What? What is it?"

"We only have one blanket. I thought I had two, but I guess Gladad or Gary must have taken one. You don't have one, do you?"

I shook my head, certain that my bag was blanket-free. "Sorry, no," I said, unsure whether he could see my gesture though the darkness. "What are we going to do? I suppose one of us must go without..."

I heard him sigh downheartedly. "You take it," he said, throwing the blanket into my lap. I stared at the blanket for a second, and then looked back at Ash. That was... strangely kind of him.

"Really? Are you sure? Because I don't mind if you want it."

"Yes, really. Take it. You were shivering earlier... so you need it more than me. Besides," he said, flashing me a slightly forced-looking grin through the thick shroud of black, "I'm not cold anyway."

I rolled my eyes, turning away to hide my blushing smile. "Right..."

**~0~**

The early morning sun was slowly rising up through the trees, casting a very dim light on everything around us – not enough light to see things clearly, but at least now I could see fairly well.

It had been a couple of hours since we had settled down to rest but I still wasn't asleep, even though (and we both knew it) that the only reason we had stopped in the first place was because of me.

In my boredom I had slipped my mother's old book out of my bag and had been casually reading it for the last hour or so, hoping that it would make me drowsy enough to finally fall asleep. It wasn't working.

The early morning sun was slowly rising up through the trees, casting a very dim light on everything around us – not enough light to see things clearly, but at least now I could see fairly well.

It had been a couple of hours since we had settled down to rest but I still wasn't asleep, even though (and we both knew it) that the only reason we had stopped in the first place was because of me.

In my boredom I had slipped my mother's old book out of my bag and had been casually reading it for the last hour or so, hoping that it would make me drowsy enough to finally fall asleep. It wasn't working.

I sighed, running my finger over the old leather bound spine and feeling my eyes water slightly as I stared at the familiar handwriting of my mother, who sometimes wrote in both the language of the Elves or in the common speak – it didn't matter which, since I could read both, but I preferred her Elven handwriting. It made the already old and beautiful script even more enchanting to read.

I finished the page I was on, not even sure if I had taken in most of what was on it, and noisily turned the page over. Ash stirred in front of me and I stiffened, scared that I had accidentally woken the Elf.

I watched him, waiting for any more signs of him waking from his slumber, and found myself staring with wonder at his face.

He had his arms curled beneath his head, as a makeshift pillow, so his sleeve was covering part of his face, but he still looked peaceful, almost beautiful, just the same. Some of his long dark hair was tangled in the brooch holding together his cape, and a couple of the ebony locks had fallen across his lips. His eyes were closed, of course, but if I looked closely enough I could still see a flickering of his eyelids, a tiny open slit beneath his lashes that showed the chocolate-brown of his eyes.

He was breathing quietly and deeply, but my enhanced Elven ears meant that I could hear him over the rustling of the leaves playing in the wind. The green-brown suede tunic he wore had fallen open slightly, showing the top of his smooth pale chest.

I gulped, the pace of my heart quickening as I once more got lost in my memories. I had only ever seen him once without his tunic or undershirt on, when I had accidentally walked in on him back in Twinleaf, and believe me I hadn't forgotten the experience any time soon. Just thinking about it almost made me want to see it again...

Ash's eyes opened slowly, startling me, and I looked away before he could catch me staring at him. Gradually he sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" I asked, hoping that my blushing face wasn't too visible in the fresh morning sunlight. What if had caught me staring at him?

He shook his head. "No. I haven't been sleeping. I couldn't fall asleep," he explained sheepishly, leaning to the side on one arm.

I bit my lip. Damn, he must have caught me gaping at him!

His gaze flicked towards the book and then back to me. "You couldn't sleep too?"

"No," I disagreed. "It is by choice that I don't sleep, and not because of the inability. I preferred to read rather than rest my eyes."

Laughing quietly, he got up and knelt down again near me, peering over my shoulder.

I could feel him close to me, his hot breath on my ear. I didn't know whether to push him away or draw him in closer – both actions would just seem to make the situation even more awkward.

The tip of his chin brushed my shoulder as he leaned over me, studying my book. He didn't seem to think anything was wrong, as far as I could tell. I didn't like that. I didn't want to be the only one who felt this way when he was close. I wanted him to feel the same. And if he was experiencing what I was, then he was doing a good job at hiding it from me.

"What are you reading?" he asked, reaching out to brush one of the frail, stained pages.

I stopped myself from looking up at him, his face deadly close to mine, and answered instead with my eyes fixed firmly upon the page. "It's a book my mother and father wrote. All the old stories and myths she used to tell me when I was a child are written down here. I would always ask my mother to teach me the stories, but I could never remember them again afterwards... so she wrote them down in a book, and my father crafted it into this book. This." I stroked the page, the end of my finger grazing his. The contact sent an electric shock through my skin and I tried not to gasp. Ash's muscles tensed and he drew back his hand – this was a sign. It meant he was feeling at least something. I sighed, my eyes feeling wet from thinking about my father. "It's all I have left of her."

Ash looked up in astonishment and stared at me. This was my breaking point. I couldn't not look into his eyes any longer, and as soon as I did I immediately got lost in them. "I'm sorry," he muttered quietly, our eye contact not breaking – again, I wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad. As he spoke I felt more of his breath caressing my cheek.

I forced out a weak smile. "Don't be. It wasn't your fault what happened."

He laughed his clear musical laugh, like a bell ringing through my ears, and his startling blue eyes bore into mine. He placed a comforting hand on my back, seeing my sad expression as I thought about him. A strange, sudden impulse took over me and I leant my head on his shoulder, my hair tickling his neck. "And if it's any consolation," he added, and I felt myself draw a fraction of an inch closer to his warm body, feeling comforted as his grip on my shoulder tightened ever so slightly, "My father's gone too." I looked up at him again, instantly missing the heat of his should against my head, and an expression, that was not unlike his when I had first told him about the absence of my father, overtook my face.

There was a moment of silence between us; even the forest seemed to have a deafening silence about it now, the only two sounds being our hearts beating together in unison. I could almost feel myself drawing in closer and closer to him, as if I were to throw my arms around his neck and hug him – or as if we were about to kiss.

I didn't like this feeling, but at the same time I wanted it to continue. I wanted for it to never stop. I just loved the heat of his body washing over me, and the pounding of his heart against my side. How had we come to this? One small gesture of comfort and now I never wanted to leave his arms. Gary had told him to look after to me… so did this count?

Part of me sure did hope so.

My fingers twitch by my side and the crazy idea of just reaching out and stroking his soft cheek swept across my mind, a million imagined reactions of his running along after it. Most of his imagined reactions were just of him giving me strange looks, or pushing me away. A couple were of him encouraging it.

For some reason, those were the ones I liked best.

This was crazy. Merely forty-eight hours ago I had been dreading him, and had been from the moment we had first met. Now we were practically almost kissing. He must be feeling this too, and if so… what I didn't understand was why neither of us tried to stop it.

"Maybe... we should get moving, then?" I asked quietly, causing us both to spring apart. For a magical moment there we had been about to kiss... so why did I just ruin it? It wasn't that I wanted to kiss him… but I didn't exactly not want to.

"Of course," he said, pulling his arm off my shoulder and coughing slightly, and – just like that – we were both acting as if nothing had ever happened.

I packed up my things quickly and sat waiting for Ash as he finished up.

Suddenly there was a crash behind us, and I whipped around. Immediately my Elven eyes detected what it was.

"Orcs!" I cried, as Ash's brown eyes widened with surprise.

**Haha okay, in the next chapter there's going to be a bit of fighting (not with pokemon of course), so you all can look forward to that if you like it. Also, I tried to include a bit more semi-pearlshipping/cavaliershipping in this chapter, did you guys like it?**

**Please show this story some love by reviewing it, thanks! The more reviews I get, the quicker these will come out. Can we hit 10 reviews with this chapter? I hope so.**

**Also leave your suggestions for the oneshot I was on about earlier, Pearlshipping is my favourite ship but I really like Cavaliershipping as well and there aren't that many stories on that.**

**See you all in the next chapter!**

**Please review & favourite**

**~Dreamcrafter**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys!**

**Sorry for not really being active recently… I just finished a French Controlled Assessment for French, and it's probably my worst subject at school right now. Anyways, here's the new chapter, it's slightly longer than the others to make up for it :D**

**Oh yeah, I've also been distracted by a few games that I got into again. Do any of you guys play Age of Empires 2? I found it gathering dust at the back of a cupboard and decided to load it up, and honestly I think I'm addicted (for now) XD.**

**In this chapter, there's a fight scene (but not with Pokemon), I've never written one of these before so tell me if you liked it or not! **

**About my one-shot, I'm still in the process of writing it, I haven't done much writing in the past week as I was busy preparing for the French I mentioned. Fingers crossed I get a decent mark .**

**Without further ado, enjoy the chapter everyone!**

"Orcs!" I cried. The two of us sprang to our feet as about fifty of the great ugly beasts (a couple even riding mountain wolves) filed through the trees and immediately started attacking us. Only a small army, but considering there were only two of us we were still in a fair amount of peril.

We instantly drew the bows from our backs and started firing, Ash drawing arrows at such a speed that his hands just looked like a blur of tanned flesh. One of the cockier Orcs raised his sword above his head and leaped into the air with a fierce battle cry, attempting to cleave the Elf in half with one fell stroke, but with agility quicker than the speed he was firing arrows he leapt backwards and whipped out his long knife, piercing the foolish Orc through his throat. His dark blood gushed from the wound, wetting the ground where he fell.

Another barbarous screech tore me away from Ash and I saw many more Orcs came charging at me, their yellow teeth bared and their thick square swords dripping with some unknown substance – poison, I was guessing. It wasn't unusual for Orcs to carried poisoned weapons.

I slew most of them with my arrows, the rush of wind surging against my flushed cheeks, the adrenaline of battle pulsing strongly through my veins, and the string of my bow slapping against my hand continuously as I let fly more arrows.

Orc blood splashed against the nearby trees and I could feel the nicks and pokes of their swords cutting through my clothes as we fought. The howls of dying wolves and Orcs, the clash of metal against metal, and the wavering twang of a bowstring – all sounds that were rich and deafening in my ears.

I heard Ash cry out in distressed fury over the pandemonium of battle and automatically looked over to him, checking whether or not he had been injured. Apart from his clothes nearly ripped to shreds from the vicious claw, he seemed alive. He was sparring with a particularly large and burly Orc that I had seen him, out of the corner of my eye, knock off a now-dead wolf. A deep look of concentration and hate was contorting both of their faces, their teeth bared in bloodthirsty growls. His bow lay a couple of feet away, and with a final burst of strength he flung the Orc to the ground where he lay reunited in death with his pet, then swooped up his bow again.

He truly was an amazing warrior; as a graceful as a dancer, as swift as a swallow, and as deadly as the most dangerous of hunters. We may not get along most of the time, but I really was lucky to have him fighting next to me.

There weren't many of the Orcs left, maybe twenty out of the possible fifty we had started with. Not many left to go but defeating about thirty Orcs in what had seemed less than ten minutes was still quite a feat for the two of us (even though I was sure Ash had done much better in many previous battles), and I was starting to feel the strain of an unprepared attack.

I reached for another arrow, but – alas! – I had run out! I would have to use my knife now, a weapon which (while I was still fairly skilled at) was not what I was best using. It would tire me more using my long knife rather than arrows, but it was all I had to survive.

I threw the long Elven blade into the stomach of an Orc on a wolf that was riding to attack me. He groaned, clutching his blackened meaty hands around where my knife had struck him, and fell off his animal, dead. I knelt down beside him to retrieve my knife, when–

"Dawn!" Ash shouted to me, and I could detect concern and fear in his voice. Before I knew what was happening or why he was shouting to – or at – me, a beastly roar came from behind and I whirled around to see the great, oversized mountain wolf rear up onto its hind legs and brandish its bloody claws at me, about to attack.

Fear froze my insides, immobilizing me to the forest floor. I couldn't even scream, for no sound would dare to come out.

"Dawn!" he cried again. The anxious fear was more prominent in his deep voice and it sent a chill down my already-frozen spine. He abandoned his half-dead Orc and knife, and ran in front of the angry beast, protecting me. The wolf swiped at him with its mighty claws and Ash was thrown backwards from the sheer force of the attack, onto the body-littered ground, where he eventually lay, slumped and motionless and bleeding profusely.

I yelled to him but my voice had still not returned. Everything seemed to be immersed in silence for the few seconds that I watched him lie unconscious and close to death, most likely, before it dawned on me that there were still a few Orcs that needed to be killed, and giant beast above me that was ready to attack again.

I forced myself back into reality and grabbed the hilt of my knife, drawing it from the Orc's body and shoving it instead through the stomach of the wolf, slicing the poor creature open. Thankfully it was the last wolf.

The Orcs left could see they were in trouble, even if they did think that they had killed one of us – but Ash wasn't dead. He couldn't be – and they were determined not to be beaten by an unusually small female Elf. Or half-Elf even, but they didn't know that.

I struggled to my feet and began to slash about a nearby Orc, but he easily knocked my weapon straight out of my hand – I was far too distracted by Ash and by wondering whether or not he was alive, or going to live, to be able to fight again properly.

"Foolish girl!" he snarled with an evil grin, and I caught a whiff of his stagnant breath. It made me choke and gag for cleaner air. He thrashed out at me and knocked me backwards, where I landed not so far from the unconscious Ash. But I couldn't let myself become too distracted by him, no matter how worried I was.

A couple of his yellow-feathered arrows had spilled from his quiver and I grabbed them up, reaching out for my bow at almost the same time.

The few final Orcs were advancing on me menacingly so – not having enough time to fire them all separately – I notched all four of Ash's arrows into my bow at once and, aiming clumsily (though I was trained, my skill in archery was not exceptional), fired.

One unlucky arrow missed completely, sailing in an almost carefree manner right past the Orcs, as if it was oblivious to my peril.

Two of his arrows punctured an Orcs chest, and he collapsed to his knees.

The final one pierced the second-to-last Orc through the throat.

Only one Orc left now, and I was completely weapon-less. Both Ash and I had run out of arrows, and my knife was too far away to reach!

The Orc began to advance on me, his arms outstretched to grab my throat and throttle me.

I panicked. What was I to do? I wasn't very good at fighting hand-to-hand – this guy would beat me in seconds! I had to think fast if I was going to survive this, not just for me but for Ash.

"Game over, little Elf," he sneered, taking a swipe at me. I ducked and stepped backwards, trying to evade him. "You might as well give up."

My mind went blank with fear and all my instincts told me was hit him! Hit him with something, anything!

I grabbed my bow from the ground, where I had dropped it previously, and thwacked him over the head with it. He growled and I hit him again, causing splinters of woods to burst from the impact. I aimed to hit him a third time but the Orc's hand shot up and grabbed the bow in mid-flight, squeezing the wood hard. I could hear it cracking under the pressure, and more tiny splinters flew out.

I tried to wrench it from his grip and he tried to pull both me and my bow towards him, so he could finish me off. There was a snapping sound as we wrestled and the taut bowstring snapped, lashing out and slashing my cheek.

The Orc made a startled noise, his slow and tiny mind not fully understanding just what had happened, and he let go.

Using his moment of distraction to my advantage, I leapt backwards to the nearest dead Orc and stole his knife from his cold, clammy grip, and drove it into the last Orc's chest.

He fell to the ground, writhing in pain, and I watched with grim satisfaction as the last drops of life trickled from his veins. He fell still.

My legs wobbled and I keeled over, being on the brink of unconsciousness. But I couldn't pass out now, not when Ash was still hurt. He had saved me and now it was my turn to save him.

Skimming my eyes over the destruction of the forest I landed my eyes on the unconscious Elf, who somehow still managed to retain his beauty even while half-dead. It was amazing how he had avoided the marks of a battle – there was no blood or any cuts on him save the one he took to save me.

I summoned up all the strength I could muster pulled myself up slightly, crawling over to him. I ran my hand across his red-stained jaw, my eyes wet with tears. He didn't move as I approached.

"This is no time to cry!" I muttered angrily, berating myself. I needed to clean his wound and bandage him before he lost any more blood.

I slipped my arms under his and tried to lift him upwards, but it was no easy task as he was tall and well-built and his muscle weighed a lot. Eventually I had to give up after many failed attempts of trying to lift him, and instead had to settle with dragging him across the grass and dead leaves and propping him up against a tree.

He stirred as I dragged him and this small movement made my heart surge with hope. His eyes began to open slightly, flickering to a halt, and his lips parted like he was trying to say something.

"St-stupid... h-half-Elf," he mumbled, smiling up at me weakly. I smiled back, still teary eyed, and he reached up to brush a lock of blue hair behind my ear and wipe the blood from my cheek on his sleeve. "Pay more attention." His speech slurred and his head sank against my hand.

The smile vanished from my face and the hope I held in my heart diminished considerably. I pressed my palm against the hand he held on my cheek to stop it from falling. "No. No, Ash... you can't go now. You can't!"

I dropped his hand and ran to get the water-sacks we kept in our bags, and what little medical supplies we had – nothing more than bandages and a blanket, and a couple of spare clothes that we had accumulated from the last town.

Ash's Elven cloak, tunic, and undershirt had been shredded by the wolf's powerful claws, now hanging in rags by his side and being soaked in the growing pool of blood. His chest was mangled and destroyed where the wolf's claws had torn through his skin.

I ripped open the remains of his clothes and studied his wounds through bleary eyes. My heart sank further as I noticed the gouges were deeper than I had first made them out to be, and freely bleeding.

I grabbed the one blanket I held at my side and pressed it against the wound, trying to soak up the blood and stop it flowing. It quickly became nothing more than a large rag that seemed to have more blood than actual cotton. I pulled it off and squeezed out some of the blood, poured a little fresh water over it, then promptly pushed it back against his chest, making him moan quietly.

I called out his name and it took me a couple of tries to get it right as I was choking on tears, begging that he would respond.

"Ash? Ash, please... please, open your eyes! You're hurt, hurt badly!" I explained to him, secretly worried that his loss of blood had affected his memory and he didn't know what was going on.

Oh, what was I to do? I couldn't leave him alone here, but I couldn't carry him back to Twinleaf! Gary and Gladad would only be back in god knows how long, and when they finally did... it might already be too late. Dammit, why did I let them leave? Stupid horses! If we had known they were going to attack us this would never have happened!

I imagined what Ash would say in my head. "Oh, don't be silly, Dawn!" he would reply, laughing and wincing as he would try to sit up. "It's only a flesh wound, I'll be fine soon. And pay more attention in battle! I may not be around to take the blow next time!" I imagined his expression along with his words. His beautiful Elven face would be clearly in pain but he would chuckle at me worrying over him, his eyes laughing and his words in no way matching his condition.

But in reality Ash was slipping in and out of consciousness, occasionally twitching his head as if to sit up but only to fall down again against the rough bark of the tree.

After a couple of minutes of the blanket being tightly wound around his chest while I wet his brow with the cold water, I unwound the blanket and washed away the remaining blood. The bleeding hadn't slackened much and he was still losing more and more blood, but at least it was flowing slower now.

I positioned the blanket on the ground so it supported his side and soaked up the blood, but also so I could get to work using the limited medical skills I knew to fix him.

Muttering absent-mindedly to myself in Elvish, I set to work on him, cleaning the wounds as well as I could manage and carefully wrapped the thin bandages around where the knife-like claws had cleanly cut through Ash's lean skin and muscle.

Unfortunately I had nothing much to stop the pain besides cold water.

After I had tended to him as best as I could, I draped my Elven cloak and the blanket over him and lay by his side.

I desperately wanted to slip into a deep slumber, but with the injured Ash I very much doubted that sleep would be one of my options.

**~0~**

"Dawn? Dawn!" a familiar voice rang loudly through my ears and a meaty hand was roughly shaking my shoulder. "Gary, come quick! I have found them!"

I don't remember how or when I had fallen asleep, but when I finally did I was still clutching feverishly onto Ash's limp arm. I must have fallen asleep for at least a day, I was so tired, since the first thing that struck me when I woke up was how quickly my masters' had found us again.

My eyes opened, fluttering to a halt, and Gladad's broad face loomed down above me. "Wh-what happened?" I muttered cluelessly under my breath, but then the past came crashing into me like a brick wall. I remembered Ash, and how he had been hurt. I also remembered how I had appointed myself to look after him while he was wounded, and suddenly the idea of me falling asleep by his side seemed horrible. How could I do such a thing while he was hurt?

"Oh, god, I fell asleep! How could I do that, I'm such a bad person! I was supposed to help him, and I fell asleep!" as I berated myself, I somehow fell back into Elvish, muttering curses under my breath. Gary tried to calm me, but I ignored him, placing my hand on Ash's cheek. It was cold and slightly clammy, and a lot paler than even his skin was before – for a fraction of a second the awful through crossed my mind that he was dead.

As my hand touched him, his body stirred and his eyelids flickered. "D-Dawn..." he mumbled, weakly reaching out and touching the tips of his fingers against my arm. "Dawn... get... your hand... off me."

Frankly, I wasn't sure whether to hug him or slap him.

Gary touched my shoulder and pulled me around. His brow was furrowed with concern and confusion. "Dawn, what happened here?" he asked, his sunken eye flicking around to the Orcs' bodies that lay around us. "Are you both okay?"

I half expected Ash to grumble in his deathly-state, "Well, I'm bloody not..." but he lay silent, much to my disappointment. I wanted him to talk again, to give signs that he was going to be okay. I didn't want to have led him into an early grave because of my stupidity and obliviousness, and inability to stay awake in times of need.

"We're fine – well, I'm fine... I'm not so sure about him." I looked at him again and felt a pang of guilt run through me. This was all my fault! "There were some Orcs! From the trail! We didn't leave the forest, as you said, but we found signs of Orcs backtracking and got worried about you... we didn't know they were waiting for us. We managed to kill most of them, but they had wolves, and one wolf was about to attack me, but then Ash jumped in front and saved me, and I managed to kill the rest, but it was already too late, and I- I-!" I didn't know what else to say, but I had a feeling – due to the fact that as I spoke my voice got faster, higher, and more emotional and inaudible – that they hadn't understood much of my explanation. I looked to Gary, and he stared back understandingly. "I'm sorry, Gary," I apologized meekly, scared that he might decide that I was useless with him and leave me here. "I didn't mean for this to happen, honest!"

With a grim smile, he placed his large hand on my shoulder. "Please, Dawn, don't blame yourself. This was my fault. I shouldn't have left you two here alone. I thought the Orcs were further away, and if I had known they were backtracking through the forest we wouldn't have left."

I was torn between losing myself in Gary's comforting gaze, which melted away all my guilt, or following the temptation that led to staring with horror at what I had done to Ash. This was all too much for me. I felt like I wanted to faint!

"But, Gary-!" I began, but was cut short by Ash groaning. His eyelids flickered ever so slightly and his muscles began to tense. Using the strength of a Dwarf, Gladad lifted him up and propped his head against the tree, grimacing as Ash moaned in pain.

Gary took out his water-sack and poured a little of the water into Ashs's parted lips, making him cough violently. He placed a hand on the Elf's forehead, feeling his hot temperature, then unwrapped the blood-stained blanket I had wrapped around Ash's chest and frowned at the gory condition it was in. "This was a wolf, correct?" he asked, and I nodded.

"I tried to do what I could to help, but... I'm no doctor. I don't have much medical skill." I watched him redress Ash wounds anxiously. "Will he be okay?" I asked once I figured he was done. Gary nodded rigidly, and brushed the dirt and blood off his hands.

"He's tougher than you think," he told me. "A normal person would have died by now, and even a skilfully trained warrior would at least be knocked out for a couple of days. He's stubborn, and hopefully should be waking up soon. You did well by trying to stop the blood flow, Dawn," he complimented me, but his praise gave me little relief.

"So he'll be okay?" I asked, my voice filled with worry and concern. I didn't like this tension.

Gary smiled at me. "He'll be fine, Dawn," he insisted, and finally I could breathe again. "He spoke earlier, and he seems to be waking up. We may not be able to continue until he's up though, and this will slow us down greatly."

"Maybe we should have kept one of the horses," Gladad said under his breath, but his slight scorn was only out of concern for his friend.

Ash groaned again, and Gary leant down close to him, shaking his shoulder lightly. "Ash?" he asked a couple of times, softly into the Elf's pointed ear, "Ash, are you awake? Please, my friend, open your eyes." He tapped his pale cheek lightly.

Slowly, Ash's eyelids began to flicker again, and finally his eyes opened. He groaned and lifted his arm to rub his eye, as if awakening from a deep, long slumber.

"How do you feel?" Gladad asked.

He grunted and mumbled a couple of things quietly in Elvish, struggling to sit up. "I- I'm not... sure..." he muttered, closing his eyes again and his arm which he was leaning on, gave way. He fell back against the tree. "Pain... I feel... pain." His breathing was heavy and rasping and he had to take deep breaths between every word he said, which fragmented his sentences. "It's... like fire," he managed out.

Gary touched his cheek. "Save your breath, my friend. You'll be fine, I promise."

I was too scared to say anything. Gary and Gladad both knew what they were doing, unlike me. I didn't want to ruin anything by saying or doing something stupid. But, me being me, I couldn't stay quiet for too long.

"I'm so sorry, Ash!" I blurted out, biting my lip. "I never thought this would happen! Please, forgive me?"

"Not... your fault," he gasped, "But pay... attention."

"You need rest," Gary told him, but it sounded more like an order. "We'll follow the trail again once you're fully healed."

"What if... we lose it?" His voice was weak and slurred, but I was amazed at how much he was managing to talk. Gary was right – he was stubborn. "I can move... the fire is going... we can continue... don't let me... hold you back."

Gary and Gladad looked gob-smacked. "You're not well enough!" they both protested. "We can't continue when you're like this!"

"Pikachu..." the Elf mumbled. "...Can't lose... the trail."

How could he say that? Ash was injured, very badly, yet all he cared about was the helping their friends! I wanted to scream at him, this was no time to be a hero! Their friends could wait, couldn't they?

"We won't lose the trail, Ash. I don't want to leave them for the moment either, but we can't leave you here and go after them. We'll only be able to travel again once you're healed."

Ash began to struggle, looking as if he wanted to crawl to his feet. "I'm... fine!" he insisted, grabbing a low-hanging tree branch above him and using it to pull himself up. He stood there, pathetically hanging onto the tree, while Gary rolled his eyes.

"You can't walk," he reminded him, giving up being concerned. Ash was being so stubborn that it was almost as if we had to convince him that he was actually hurt. Gary took the Elf's arm so he could lean on him.

"I can," he said, "I can walk. I just need... a stick... or something."

I tried a stop a smile from crossing my face at his stubbornness, but once I remembered the deadly situation we were in, reality kicked in hard. "I agree with Gary, you can't honestly think you are well enough to walk!"

"I'll be fine! Stop worrying about me," he grunted as he staggered and gripped Gary harder, "Our friends are still in danger. We must help them before anything. I can hold out longer."

Gladad gave him an incredulous look before finally admitting to him that we could continue. "You're lucky we're on the edge of the forest, lad, or I would have to force you to stay down." He took up Ash's other arm to help him stand.

I could tell Gary was still pondering carefully over what to do. He wasn't convinced that he could make it, but didn't want to argue with the Elf any longer, when it was clear that he could do nothing to change his mind.

With deep sigh, Gary finally spoke. "Okay," he relented grudgingly. "But I'm trusting you, Ash. I don't want you suddenly collapsing when we reach the outskirts of Jublife." He spoke to him as speaking to a child, and not to one of Middle Earth's most respected races.

Gingerly, Gary and Gladad they began making their way through the trees.

All I could do was follow and wish I could help…

**~0~**

"I – I think I can walk now," Ash said, for the thousandth time. I rolled my eyes, and he saw me. "Honestly, I can. I appreciate the help, but I am not a child."

"Well, then, act more your age and stop complaining!" Gary laughed, but he wasn't going to let him go; he was having trouble believing the Elf.

"We're almost here, old friend!" reassured Gladad, looking out towards the trees – we were so close I could see the yellow, sun-beaten plains before Jublife through the tiny slits between the trees.

"Please, let me go, Gary. I'm fine, I can walk!" he insisted.

Gary sighed. "Fine," he grumbled. "We'll let you walk on your own. But please, Ash, be careful!"

I didn't say anything, but I was glad that he hadn't mentioned again that the only reason he was injured was because of me. I still felt guilty about that and – though I wanted to finally rid of this forest – I still did think that Ash's recovery was too good to be true. Something bad was going to happen. I could feel it.

The rest of the journey was quiet, and I walked behind Ash, scared that he might fall. But then we came to the border of trees that parted us from the plains.

I felt the warm sun bathing my face as we pushed through the final couple of trees, and we emerged into the plains before Jublife.

Why had I never been here before? It was blisteringly hot, and the Orc-trampled earth made it hard to walk. But strangely, I loved it.

After a few hours of reward-less travelling, Ash paused and looked up, as if to inspect the air and the rising sun. "A red sun rises," he said in a rather dark voice. "Blood has been spilled this night." I turned to Gary, who was looking uneasy. I knew he was thinking about their friends.

We continued to journey through the swelteringly hot plains, stooping only to rest for a few minutes, and (when it came to the afternoon) to take a quick bite of the waybread that King Úllothona had blessed us with.

As I finished packing the bread into one of the small packs we had brought with us, I noticed Ash staring out to the horizon line intensely.

Gary had noticed it too. "What do you see?" he asked him gently, appearing behind his shoulder.

"I'm not sure..." he muttered in reply. "It's like a dark mob... or cloud of dust. It is not clear to me."

I looked to where he was and noticed it too. Something was closing in on us, and closing in fast. "I see it too," I added in. "It looks like..." I paused to shield my eyes with my hand, and peered further over the hill. "Horsemen."

"Follow me!" Gary shouted, then leaped up and dragged us all into a dip in the hill, surrounded by a couple of disguising rocks and bushes.

Suddenly a great thundering roar rippled across the air, and the ground vibrated dangerously as what seemed like a hundred or so horses galloped past us, their banners aflutter in the soft breeze.

Gary crouched down behind one of the bushes, grinning insanely. "Riders of Jubilife!" he shouted out, emerging from our hiding place once the last few horseman had begun to pass. "What news from the City?"

What in God's name was that man doing? I thought the point of hiding was that they don't spot us, and frankly it was going quite well until he had to go and jump up and yell to them about the latest news!

The leader, whose hair was of a prominent gold colour, signalled and the riders made a quick turn, heading straight towards us, and surrounding us in an ever-tightening circle. When they finally began to stop, they pointed their long spears menacingly at us, making it hard to move without getting jabbed painfully in the arm of back.

The leader forced his horse through the dangerous crowd of men and weapons. He skimmed his eyes over the four of us and then narrowed them on me.

"What business do two Elves, a man and a Dwarf have here? Speak quickly, or you shall be fined!" he demanded angrily.

"I am Gary, son of Silver. This is Gladad, son of Balgrim, Ash of Viridian and Dawn of Tadasea Wood."

The leader's eyes were irrevocably drawn to me. "A woman?" he asked, shock and scorn both entering his tone.

My jaw twitched with anger, but before I could shout at him, Gary spoke. "Yes, a woman. She is our servant and helper, who we luckily managed to pick up in Tadasea Wood."

The leader, who it only just occurred to me that we still did not know his name, snorted. "I would expect nothing less than a servant from her! Imagine a mere girl accompanying you on your travels!"

Ash glared at the golden-haired rider. "How dare you insult her like that! Only I may set off her temper! You have insulted one of my companions, of which is my kin!"

"Ash, please!" Gary shouted, the stress in his voice evident. Gladad let me go once it was clear that I had calmed down slightly. "I am deeply sorry. My friends do not yet have control over their anger, and are easy to set off. Please forgive them. We are friends of Jubilife and of your king."

It was clear that the rider did not quite know what to think of us. He nodded and introduced himself, though he was wary of both Ash and I now – this somehow delighted me, knowing we set but a small amount of fear into his heart. It was strangely satisfying.

"I am Barry, nephew to the King. Forgive my rash decisions, but my Lord no longer recognizes friend from foe." He took off his helmet, resulting in a lot more long golden hair cascading down his shoulders. "Not even his own kin." He signalled with his hand and the spears withdrew. "Ghetsis has poisoned the mind of the king and claimed lordship over these lands. My company are those loyal to Jubilife. And for that, we are banished. Giovanni is cunning. He walks here and there, they say, as an old man, hooded and cloaked. And everywhere his spies slip past our nets."

"We are not spies," Gary assured him. It was clear that his skills with words far surpassed those of me, or the others. "We track a party of Orcs westward across the plain. They've taken three of our friends captive."

"The Orks are destroyed. We slaughtered them during the night," Barry informed us matter-of-factly."

Gladad made a distraught noise in the back of his throat. "But there were three of our friends! Did you see two strange little creatures with them?"

Barry grimaced regretfully. "We left none alive."

**That's the end of this chapter, I'll hopefully have the next chapter up in a week, maybe sooner depending on the feedback I get from this.**

**Have you guys guessed who their 'friends' are yet? Virtual cookies if you do :P**

**Oh yeah, I'd just like to say thanks for passing 10 reviews! Let's aim for 20 next!**

**Please comment and review, thanks!**

**~ Dreamcrafter**

**By the way, what do you guys think about the new site layout?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey everyone!**

**Woohoo, it's the holidays :D Hopefully this will mean I can get more chapters out, but that's not a promise, with me and my procrastination issues XD**

**Here's my new chapter, I hope you all enjoy it. I'll keep the A/N pretty short as there's not anything that I need to update you guys with.**

**To make up for the lack of interaction between our favourite couple, I've made this chapter so they talk to each other more, plus thrown another couple into the mix :P**

**Who's the other couple? Well read on to find out…**

Gary roared a fierce cry of despair and frustration, the terrible sound echoing over the plains. He kicked one of the Orcs' helmets down the hill and fell to his knees. I flinched away from his anger. Ash muttered something barely audible in Elvish, but I managed to perceive it as, "_Hiro îth… ab 'wanath_," or in the common tongue, "May they find peace in death."

I nodded along with his words, though he was oblivious that I had heard him. I hadn't known their friends, but nevertheless I added onto them, once again in Elvish, "_Ais olia ai caern o tia kos shyr shi kaeraes_." "If only I knew you my grief would be greater."

"We have failed them," muttered Gladad sadly.

I walked over to Gary, hoping to comfort him in his time of need. Placing a hand on the worn leather covering his back, I knelt down beside him, speaking softly in my own language, which I knew he was fluent in.

"_I am sorry, master. I imagined things would turn out better for us. I never thought that..._" I trailed off sadly, flicking my gaze back to the smoking pile of bodies.

Gary took a deep breath, then replied back in Elvish as well. "_Don't be sorry, Dawn. I should have known they would not survive. It seems we can never win in this world_."

I didn't like to agree to this negative comment, but I nodded, agreeing with him, all the same. I scoured the ground and picked up a nearby ragged piece of rope which had been roughly cut, studying it. "_There's no chance they could have escaped, could they?_"

He looked at me queerly, as if I was speaking gibberish, then stared at the rope. Taking it from me, he ran his gaze across the flattened yellow grass until he had found once again where I had picked it up from. Then he jumped up, startling me.

"Dawn, you're a genius!" he yelled happily, in the common language. All three of us stared at him and I swear I heard Ash's mouth drop open.

"Wait, she's a what?" he asked, mouth agape.

"Well, don't sound so surprised!" I shot back at him, annoyed at him for his astonishment (although, frankly, I was surprised too), "It was bound to happen sometime!"

We turned to Gary again and saw he was crouched down against the ground again, running the tips of his fingers against a light dent in the ground.

"Something lay here," he said with an air of glee, but I wasn't sure if he was talking to us. He began to follow the newly-found tracks, and we ran after him, eager and curious to know what exactly he had figured out. He held up the rope I had found again, and another just like it. Close by where he had found the second one, there was an already rusted, but still fairly sharp, knife. "They ran over here, but they were followed." He jogged quickly down the hill, and we were fighting to keep up to pace with him, especially Ash as he was still fairly hurt.

There was another thick, dark forest at the bottom of the hill, and the tall shadows from the trees stretched up the hill, where they lay close to our feet. That was just what we needed... another stupid forest. And unfortunately Gary seemed to be leading us straight into it.

"Gary! Where exactly are you taking us?" I called to him, but he didn't answer exactly how I would have liked him to.

"The tracks lead away from the battle!" he shouted back happily.

"That still doesn't answer my question, master..."

He broke into a run, and therefore we also had to. When we finally reached the bottom, he stopped abruptly. I stared up at the menacing mass of trees. We were all thinking exactly the same thing, but it was only Gladad who had the courage to voice them.

"Bewilder... what madness drove them in there?"

**~0~**

We pushed through the dense leaves, the dew coming off on our hands. God, this place was worse than Tadasea (and Tadasea was pretty bad). I mean, literally, you could barely see, the leaves were so damn thick! I had heard rumours about Bewilder – it was pretty famous around Twinleaf – but I had never have guessed that they were true to such an extreme extent.

Gladad stopped and fingered a dark stain on a leaf, bringing it to his mouth. "Ugh!" he growled, spitting it back to the forest floor in disgust. "Orc blood!"

Gary knelt to the floor, as he had been doing at regular intervals, and scowled, furrowing his brow. "These are strange tracks," he muttered. "I don't know what they belong to... but, whatever it is, this is where Pikachu and Umbreon's trail goes, so we must follow it, wherever it may lead."

I smiled. Pikachu and Umbreon. What cute names! I still had no idea what their friends even were, but if they were anywhere as cute as their names were then I was sure to love them!

It was pretty scary in here, I wasn't going to lie. Every shadow that sped across our path or every sound that echoed in the distance made me jump. The air was tense, strained, in here, and besides Gary's directions and an occasional comment, we kept quiet. It was like we were afraid of disturbing the peace. Like we were afraid of disturbing what monsters might lay beneath our feet, or in the trees. We didn't want to wake anything.

As we walked the crunch of leaves beneath our feet was amplified, and frankly that wasn't helping. I kept hearing whispers bouncing back and forth between the trees... as if they were talking.

Every so often, if I listened close enough, I could pick out a word or two of what the trees were saying. It was hard, as the sound of our footsteps interrupted with their words, and they spoke so quietly they were almost inaudible. Almost.

"The Wizard... The White Wizard... he approaches... they destroy... our friends... they are gone... burned... burned! They will pay... Zaa..gg..eer..."

"Zager..." I repeated the name, almost absentmindly. The word seemed to stick in my mind, though it was white hot when I thought about it.

Gary stopped and stared at me. "What did you say?" he asked me, his voice cold and full of hatred.

I was suddenly scared again, though this time it was not the forest which injected me with so much fear. Though, still, I complied with his orders. "I- I- I said Zager."

He turned his body around fully and grabbed my shoulders, shaking my slightly. His gaze was hard and spiteful, though now his voice was pleading. "Why? Why did you say that?"

I placed my hand on his arm, to stop him from shaking me. "I- I don't know! It- it was the trees!"

This caused him to relax his grip, and he stared at me curiously, as if he was trying to detect whether I was lying or not. After seeing me clean of any deception, he asked, "The trees?"

"It is the trees of Bewilder who speak of Zager, not Dawn," said Ash, and I'd never been so glad to hear his voice interrupt me. "She was merely repeating what she had heard. She does not know what power that name holds."

Now the conversation thankfully switched from Gary and me to him and Ash, though it annoyed me greatly how Ash referred to me as she, as if I wasn't important enough to him for him to use my name more than once or twice in a sentence. I was just as good as him and I was determined to prove that.

"Why would the trees speak of Zager?"

Ash shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not a tree. I don't know what they've been through, or why they speak of the evil wizard."

I nodded and bit my lip.

This forest was worse than I originally thought.

We carried on through the forest, a little faster than before. Gladad went ahead, obviously disliking Bewilder far more than we did, having been brought up in halls of stone. Me and Ash had grown up in forests, and Gary spent so much time in them he might as well be an Elf. But Gladad hadn't, and he was obviously more distressed about it.

Gary smiled weakly after a moment of silent thought, and took a deep breath. "Okay," he said simply. "I'm sorry, Dawn. Just... please. Don't say that name again. Names have power, and that name holds the second darkest power of them all. We must limit its usage."

Soon, his yearning to leave Bewilder had gotten the better of him, and he became far out of view.

"Come quickly!" I heard Gladad suddenly shout. Deep groans reverberated throughout the forest as his voice shook through the trees. We immediately ran over to him, to see what he had found.

And what he had found was... strange. I wasn't quite sure what it was when I first set my gaze on it, but after a couple more intense seconds of trying to fit my brain around it, I realised it was a body.

A crushed, squashed (whatever word you wanted to use) body.

Ew.

Gladad bent down and prodded he body with his axe. "It's an orc," he growled disgustedly, poking the limbs again with the handle.

"It must be one of the orcs from the band that took our friends!" Gary decided stonily, crossing his arms. He knelt down beside Gladad, studying the crushed carcass. "He must have escaped Barry and his riders, when they ambushed them."

"But why is he all the way out here?" Ash queried, and Gary made an unsure sounding noise.

"I'm not sure. Maybe it was following Pikachu and Umbreon? But we won't know until we find them." With that, he stood up again, scowling at the orc's body. "Come on," he said with one last despising glare. "Leave the wretched thing. I wouldn't have helped him if he were alive, anyway." Gary spat on the body and scowled. "Come on," he said in an unmeaningly cold voice. He kept sending the crushed carcass dirty looks. "We better find a place to rest. Night is drawing near."

I tilted my head backwards, my hair tickling the back of my neck as it toppled from my shoulders, and looked up to the many dark green hues of the leafy canopies above us. I couldn't see much, but the few gaps of dim light breaking through were dimming fast. I was already scared enough, I'd hate to be in this forest at night.

"And where exactly do you propose we sleep?" Ash asked, skimming his piercing blue gaze across the ivy-entwined trees and cramped, mossy ground. Something had changed in his eyes from his usual cold, serious look. They seemed softer, as if this forest had a just as great effect on him as it had on me. A smile curved the corners of my mouth. That was... sweet.

Another frown distorted Gary's mouth. It was evident that he had as much of an idea as the rest of us. "We'll have to find a place. Not here. We barely have enough room to stand, let alone sleep."

"Not to mention the fact we still have a squished orc in our company," I added, sticking out my tongue. "Charming, isn't he? Really brightens the place up, don't you think?"

Gary chuckled dryly. "I think we get the concept, Dawn," he told me, smiling.

"Just trying to brighten the mood," I replied, whistling nonchalantly.

We carried on moving forward until eventually, after scouring the forest for a while, we found a suitable enough space for us to stay in.

We immediately set down our things and I pulled some of the bread out from one of the bags and passed it around. Everyone took a small bite – not one of us was particularly hungry, I don't think – before I rewrapped it and placed it back inside the bag.

Soon the little light we had used before to see our way had gone and we were left in almost complete darkness. I could see a few streams of thin silver coming down from the moon, but apart from that I had to rely on my heightened sense of sight to see my way around.

The only thing that shattered the restless, highly-strung silence was Gary singing quietly to himself as he pulled another blanket from his bag to protect him from the cold while he slept.

I had to strain my ears to hear the words to his song. It was so quiet, barely audible, but if I listened hard enough I could just make out the words, and even then I could only pick out a few. Something about love and beauty, from what I could hear. That was funny; I never pictured Gary as the lovey-dovey type, to be honest.

I strolled lightly over to him and leant over his shoulder. "Who are you singing about?" I asked in a sweet voice, so close to his ears that I made him jump.

His cheeks flushed a pale pink under the dark, coarse hair of his beard. "Why do you ask?" he replied coolly.

I shrugged, letting my eyes drift casually to the treetops and concealed a smile. "No reason. Just... curious." I decided on.

Before Gary could answer, Gladad and Ash laughed behind us. "What about Lance's daughter? Leaf?" Gladad suggested humorously (though I'm not sure Gary was as amused as the rest of us).

Now Gary was even redder, his usually pale skin blushing brightly. I raised an eyebrow at him, standing up straight again purely so I could look down upon him. "She's called Leaf, now, is she?" I smirked. "Is she your girlfriend? Where's she from? Is Lance that Elf from Kanto? Is she like a princess or something? Is she pretty?" I was just pelting questions at him. Poor Gary was trying to answer them all at the same time, and began stuttering hopeless and inaudible invectives.

Unable to contain themselves, Ash and Gladad began laughing irrepressibly at their human friend. Gary scowled at us huffing in annoyance and petulantly tossing his head. "You three can think what you wish, but I'm going to sleep," he grunted and brushed away the twigs and stones from where he was going to lay his head. I looked to Ash, who was still fairly pink from laughing so hard.

"You'll tell me all about this later, I assume?"

He grinned slyly and nodded. "Definitely."

**~0~**

Dawn had barely begun to break when Gary woke us the next morning. He wanted us to get moving quickly, and when I pulled down the crude blanket from my face the bitter, strained air slammed into my face like a stone wall. It tingled on my skin and sent Goosebumps running up and down the exposed skin on my arms, neck and face.

I pulled my cloak further over my shoulders, shielding my body from the cold. Urgh, I hated this place. So much.

There was silence as we packed our things – this morning seemed different than the many previous hours we had spent here the day before. I could sense something powerful mingling in the sharp air, and it sent my teeth on edge. This forest already gave me the creeps, but this was something else. This wasn't the freezing air, or fear of what was within the darkness that lay around us – this was actual power rippling through the air, and sending shivers across my body. Ash stopped and frowned. He obviously felt it too.

"Stop," he said, pressing a hand in front of me. I was already slowing down anyway, but I stopped as his hand touch my stomach. He leant down close to me. "There's something out there," he muttered. "Do you feel it?"

I nodded, my breath leaving my lungs. I was already daring to breath in Bewilder, but with him being so close to me I think I was starting to suffocate from lack of air. I was holding my breath until he drew away again.

"Good," he replied quietly. "I was just making sure. This forest seems to be playing tricks on me."

"On both of us," I agreed.

Ash turned to Gary, still frowning. "Gary... something approaches."

"What is it?" Gary replied tensely. I could hear the concern in his voice, though I knew he wasn't afraid. "What do you see?"

There was an edgy pause before he answered, which didn't help the already strained atmosphere. I didn't know what it was exactly that he felt, but I knew that I felt something too. It was powerful, that was all I knew. Very, very powerful.

"It is the White Wizard... he is coming." Ash's morbidly toned voice echoed through my mind, ringing in my ears.

I gulped. That sounded bad. Very bad. Was this the notorious and infamous Zager that Gary forbid me to speak of?

I looked over to him, wondering what my master would order us to do next, but he was silent in thought. I wanted him to hurry up, to help us escape from the wrath of the Wizard before it was too late.

"Come," he said finally, and the relieving sound of his voice allowed me to breathe again. "We must carry on with the trail, before he arrives." Briskly, he walked ahead, and the other two followed. It took me a second to blink myself back into reality, for the full force of the fear to freeze in my veins.

"Come on, Dawn," Ash said, turning around and grabbing up my hand. I was relieved for his touch – I needed all the comfort I could get, right now – but though he tried display an expression of calmness, his brow was furrowed with worry.

I shivered as his hand wrapped around mine; his touch was cold, though helpful all the same. I didn't want to be left behind. And besides, there was something about the way he held my hand in his that made my heart beat rapidly. Maybe it was that look hidden deeply and well beneath his eyes, which somehow told me that everything was going to be okay with him near me?

Whatever it was, I hope it was right.

Just as we began to walk forward a bright light burst through the trees and something blocked our path ahead.

Suddenly a bright light ripped through the trees, too white and powerful to be sunlight. My automatic instincts made me to scrunch my eyes together tightly, to stop it from blinding me, but even then did it seem to burn through my eyelids.

With a yell, my three companions swung around and attacked the source of the light. I forced my eyelids open again, and saw Ash rapidly firing arrows – I wasn't sure what we were aiming at, but the others all seemed to go for the centre of the light, so I aimed there as well.

I paused for a fraction of a second, waiting for both Ash's and my arrows to pierce through light, and strained my ears for the yell of pain. But, much to all of our surprise, they bounced off, as if an invisible force field had intruded their path. The same thing had happened to Gladad, flying him backwards against a tree as his axe made contact, and Gary didn't even have a chance to raise his weapon before it grew red hot and seared his hands, forcing him to drop it.

We all shielded our eyes with our hands and peered into the light, careful not to let it blind us. But now it didn't seem to harmful… in fact, strangely enough, it was almost warm and friendly.

The light dulled and from it stepped an ancient looking being, his robes pure; he was surely the source, as all the light seemed to be emanating from him.

His face was not visible, though.

"Who are you?" Ash growled, though it didn't take a genius to tell that he was just as afraid as I was – I had never seen him shy away from any battle, no matter what the opponent, which meant that this wizard was far more powerful that I had ever imagined. "What do you want with us?"

The white-robed figure in the centre of the light merely chuckled. "Now now my boy. That's no way to address your elder."

The man stepped forward, to be met with silence. He was smiling and his eyes sparkled with an age of wisdom.

"Professor Oak?" Ash asked meekly, his voice full of fear and curiosity. The 'Wizard' nodded and stepped from the light.

I ran the name through my mind a couple of times. Oak... it feels it should be familiar, but... nope. Never heard of him.

And, me being me (which also means the clumsy hybrid Elf that I was), I couldn't stop from opening my big mouth.

"Professor Oak?" I blurted out, before I could yank the word back in. "Who are you? And why'd you go and scare us like that?" Gary looked at me in awe, startled at my outburst. Gladad just stared at me curiously, like he was trying to figure out what in world was going through my crazy mind. Ash was just in despair.

"Oh, for the love of Arceus... Dawn, just shut up," Ash groaned, shaking his head. I glared at him and pursed my lips.

"I don't see why I should," I mumbled back, a little annoyed at him and his goddamn rudeness. I mean I had seen him act like a perfect gentleman a couple of times, but when it came to me? Oh no, he had to go on being all rude and treating me like I was dirt, didn't he.

He rolled his eyes and stood up, grabbing the back collar of my tunic. "Jeez, you have no manners, do you?" he stated, his voice dry.

I struggled against his strong grip, trying to pull myself away. "That's coming from you!" I growled, thrashing out to hit his hard side. I wasn't going to lie, though, my hand kind of hurt after a couple of thwacks at him.

I could tell he was about to retaliate, when a deep, rumbling laugh interrupted us both. Oak stumbled over the uneven ground. He was grinning uncontrollably, and there was something about that sparkle in his eyes that made me unsure whether to be relieved or scared.

When he reached us, he pressed one of his long, knurled fingers on one of his hands, and pressed it in the middle of my forehead. Then he pressed another finger on his other hand onto the middle of Ash's.

He closed his eyes for a few moments, and the smile from his face gradually relaxed, but as soon as his blue***** eyes had opened once more, the brightness of his face returned. (**A/N: I'm really not sure what Oak's eye colour is, on some sources it says blue, on others it says black. If one of you guys can tell me it'd be really useful, thanks!**)

"You two," he started boldly, with a mischievous wink to one of us (he didn't make it clear who he directed the wink to), "need to learn to get along."

I blinked at him. "You mean... us?" I could see even Ash was awestruck.

Oak nodded slowly. "Yes. You two."

Now it was Ash's turn to question the Professor. "Wait... so you are talking about me and... her." He jerked his thumb in my direction, and I slapped it away with a glare.

The wizened man smirked, in his all-knowing fashion. "Yes. You two," he repeated. "You don't see it yourselves but your futures are linked. So you better learn to get along soon.

He took away his hands, and me and Ash eventually relaxed our grips on each other, and stopped fighting.

I could tell Gary was a little flustered at mine and Ash's little outburst, and he still looked shocked from the return of Oak. My mind started to wander, and I began to think about what had happened to the wizard.

Gladad laughed deeply and clapped his hands. "Professor! I can't believe that you're back!"

Oak smiled at us all, studying us each in turn, but finally resting them on me. "And who is this, then? I know you are all close to her, though you have not been friends for long... but what is her name?"

"Yes, she is. This is Dawn. She helped guide us out of Tadasea Woods, and has pledged her service for our companionship."

I felt compelled to bow and Oak laughed, reaching forward and pressing his wrinkled hand against my hair. "It doesn't take an all-knowing wizard to guess that you are no more of a servant than I am," he whispered, and winked as he drew back.

The sharp winds of Bewilder sliced through the air and I gripped the edge of my cloak, pulling it further over my shoulders. Gladad and Gary shuddered and Ash – though he did not show any strong signs of cold – looked even more tense and discomforted than usual.

I looked over to Gary and tried to catch his eyes. "May we leave this place, master?" I asked him quietly, quite scared to make my voice much louder. "This forest unnerves me."

Gary nodded, but let Oak answer for him. "The young Elf is right. Our friends will be quite all right without us, now they have found a new companion to travel with. We may leave at once." The professor smiled at me, but I forced a smile back. I wasn't sure exactly what to think of this strange old man, but I knew I liked him. I also knew that he was far more powerful than he looked, and was wary that I might get on his bad side.

Oak strolled ahead and took the lead. My three masters took after him, and I ran to follow.

"Professor, wait!" I called out, and my three masters as well as the wizened old man turned around and looked at me.

"Is there something you wanted, Dawn?" Oak asked me, his mouth curling into a smile. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Ash glaring at me. I could only guess what he was thinking: _What's that stupid hybrid doing now? Another stupid question? Can't she just keep her mouth shut?_

"Why did the trees refer to you as the Wizard? You're a professor aren't you? Are you actually a mixture of both?"

Oak laughed, the wrinkles around his eyes becoming prominent. "I have been called many names in my life. I am a professor by name and work, but I have also been called a preacher, and a wizard. Mainly due to an invention that I constructed, but I shall tell you more about that later. Shall we get moving?"

My masters nodded, and Oak, again leading the party. Suddenly, a low rumble spread from the dense trees.

"Night has fallen, and the forest awoken. And so have the foul beasts inside. We should head for the borders of this forest as quickly as we can. Come!" Gary said, before running into a patch of dense trees. Gladad, glad to finally leave, followed with haste and Oak, with surprising speed for a being so old, followed suit as well.

"Hurry, hybrid. Try keep up with the rest." Ash's voice said softly from behind me. Ugh, can't he just learn to be more like Gary?

"I am perfectly capable with keeping up with people! Why don't you look at where you- AH!" I cut myself short as I felt my foot catch in something and a rush of wind caught my hair. I didn't know what was happening, until my face slammed into the ground and I tasted leaves and dirt in mouth.

"Dawn? Are you okay?" Ash and Gary rushed over to me. They grabbed my arms and helped pull me to my feet.

"You're so clumsy," Ash muttered under his breath, and I grimaced at when they pressed my foot onto the forest ground. He flitted his eyes over my expression and his cheeks flushed pale pink when he realised that I might actually be hurt. "But, ugh... are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I said, clenching my teeth together. It wasn't much of an injury, and with every step I took it seemed to get a little better. I was sure I'd be able to walk pretty soon. But, even so, it still hurt for now.

The Elf pulled a face. He didn't seem so convinced, but then again, I wasn't exactly convinced when he was injured. In fact, I was pretty sure he hadn't healed entirely now, however strong he was. "Hmm... Gladad, you go on ahead," he decided on. "I can manage with Dawn."

**And the plot thickens!**

**Haha, maybe not. What's Ash going to do with Dawn? What's Oak planning to do with Gary and the gang? Where's Pikachu and Umbreon got to? Find out next time… On the 'Shadow of the Storm'.**

**Haha, in all seriousness guys, thanks for the reviews I got for the last chapter :) I really appreciate it. Let's try and hit 20!**

**Please comment and review! **

**See you all next time!**

**~DreamCrafter**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys!**

**I've had a few PMs regarding a grammar point in my story, and how Dawn uses 'me and Ash' instead of 'Ash and I'. This is in fact on purpose and I'll leave you guys to figure out why :P Cookies to whoever does!**

**A part of the next chapter is going to be written in Ash's POV, I haven't done that yet and it'd be nice for you guys to see what's going on in Ash's head. Although not the whole of the next chapter is going to be in that POV, some of it will still be in Dawn's.  
If you have any suggestions relating to this, feel free to tell me in the review section or send me a PM, either will do really.**

**Here's the new chapter to my story, so enjoy!**

**Oh yeah, there's a tiny pearlshippy moment in this, so hope you like it :D**

"Hmm... Gladad, you go on ahead," he decided on. "I can manage with Dawn."

Gladad nodded and marched onward, back to Gary and Oak. They had slowed to a stop, and looked back to where Ash and I were. They could see we could manage, and didn't feel they needed to come and help.

I stretched my neck and tried to twist my ankle, but fiery pain shot up my leg. He reached down and placed his cool hand over where it was hurting. "Stop moving," he said quietly, placing some pressure on my foot. I winced and he slipped and arm around my waist, scooping me into his arms, but keeping his palm placed firmly on my foot.

I squirmed in his arms, and pressing my hand against his face, trying to push him away. "You don't need to carry me. I can support myself perfectly well!"

He tightened his hold on me and gripped his arms around my legs and chest. He was holding back though, knowing about my ankle. "Please, stop it, Dawn! Knowing you, if I let you walk then you'll just trip over again and end up with a broken leg! So just stop resisting!"

After a few more restless moments of struggling, I finally managed to relax and sank down into his arms. A strange feeling washed over my body as he pressed me to his chest.

"Fine," I huffed, trying to ignore it, but I couldn't hide the redness that was gradually growing on my pale cheeks. I crossed my arms and he rolled his eyes.

"The Professor said we should try get along..." he started, muttered ever so slightly.

I arched my eyebrow at him. "Which means?"

"Which means stop being so difficult, and shut up."

I pursed my lips, annoyed at him. To be honest I didn't actually mind him carrying me, in fact you could even say I was enjoying it. It was comfortable, and somehow I felt satisfied by the fact that he was holding me. But even so... I didn't trust him enough. I was scared he was going to drop me.

"Wait, Ash!" I shouted out, as he took another big step over a tree root. He wobbled ever so slightly off balance, but managed to regain it again. Then shifted me in his arms and carried on walking.

"What?" he asked, not even bothering to look at me. He kept his eyes firmly fixed ahead.

I looked at him, seeing the concentration in his deep brown eyes. Good. I hope that meant he was concentrating on not dropping me.

"You drop me and I'll kill you." As soon as the words left my mouth, I had realised my mistake.

Ash smirked. "You don't want me to drop you, do you?" he asked me in a mockingly sweet and innocent voice. "Which means... you don't want me to do this?" as he spoke, I felt his grip relax dangerously, and he jolted me in his arms.

I gripped onto him, trying to glare at him through a fearful expression. "Don't!" I squealed, feebly trying to unhook my hands from holding onto him and aiming a slap at his cheek (though I was scared that if I let go, I would go crashing to the ground). "Stop it!"

"Stop what? This?" he said, smugness lacing his silky voice, and he shook me again. I could read the amusement far too clearly in his eyes, though his face remained calm and innocent. I was trying not to look too intensely at them, though.

"I hate you so much!"

"What, me?" he simpered, "Or this?" he asked, jerking me up again.

"Stop it, you two!" Gary yelled at us from ahead, but it wasn't hard to tell that our little quarrel was entertaining everyone and broke the thick tension of the forest. He was trying to conceal a laugh. "You're acting like children!"

"Oh, don't mind them," Oak said smoothly, flicking his eyes sideways to us with a smile. "Think of it as... bonding."

**~0~**

Finally we broke through the barrier of trees of Bewilder, and emerged into the large and spacious plains again. The warmth that the sun brought down upon us was gladly welcomed by all, as to try and shake off the shivers that Bewilder had sent across our bodies.

"One stage of your journey is over, and now anther begins," Oak said, his voice more sullen and cold than I think he meant it to be. "War has come. We must ride to Jubilife with all our speed."

He took a few steps in front of us, and tipped his head backward. He stretched his out his arms and took a deep breath, then whistled loudly. The sound was piercing and shook through my ears. I felt Ash tighten his grip ever so slightly, waiting for whatever the professor had called to appear.

We all waited in silence, for some kind of response to his call.

After a couple of minutes, another sound echoed across the plains. It was an answering neigh, followed by the soft clip-clopping of hooves. I shielded my eyes with my hand, peering over the horizon, and a white horse soon became visible, approaching fast. Once the first horse was within view, three more appeared behind it, slower yet still running faster than any other horses I had seen.

They arrived before us in a matter of minutes, and I clutched onto Ash's chest one of them trotted a little too close to us for my liking. One horse, a horse I hadn't seen before, stood obediently beside Oak. Ash seemed fascinated by this horse (something which I was not so entirely thrilled about, considering wherever he went, I went).

Gary, Gladad and Oak all jumped up onto their horses. Ash shot me an unsecure look before reaching out for the main of the last horse.

"Wait... you are not going to put me on that thing, are you?" He didn't say anything, but I knew the answer. I tensed against him as the horse came closer, but Ashreached out to stroke its long nose.

He felt me stiffen near the horse, and leaned down close to my face, whispering softly in my ear, "Don't worry, Dawn. He's not going to hurt you. Besides, I'm here. I wouldn't let you get hurt." My cheeks reddened and a wave of heat washed across my body. He was going to protect me. That was so sweet! Well, at least it was until he added, "So stop being such a wimp, and get on the damn horse."

Before I could do anything, I felt the arm around my waist shift and he swung me onto the beast's bare white back. I squealed when he leaped on behind me, and again as his arms re-encircled me, to keep me from falling off, and when he whipped the reins. My mind was blank for the split second when Ash was holding me, but soon, as the wind rushed by my ears as we galloped across the plains, my thoughts gradually returned.

"I think I'm going to be sick," I moaned, forgetting all my hatred for him and wrapping my arms around him for safety.

Ash groaned, pulling a face. "Please don't."

"I hope I am," I mumbled under my breath, but just loud enough so he could hear me, "it would be revenge on pretending to drop me earlier."

**~0~**

A wide smile took over my face as Jubilife came into view. Even from afar it just looked so amazing and exciting! I had never been to a human town before, and my curiosity about them – how they worked, and how to act, and what the people were like – grew and grew the closer we got towards it.

Gary saw me smiling, and tilted his head to the side, wondering what sort of thoughts were running through my mind, and how they were amusing me so much. "What is it, Dawn? You seem... happy."

"I am!" I replied enthusiastically (probably far more than I ought to be, judging by the tone of my master's voice). "I've never been to a human town before! This is so..." I had to stop and think for a second, to try and wrack my brain for a consequential word. "Exhilarating!" I decided on.

Gary chuckled. "I wouldn't get too thrilled about it; it won't be as good you think."

Ash laughed behind me, and the sound reverberated through his chest and my back. "Well, remember, Ash, that simple things please a simple mind," he said and a small smile crept onto his face. Gladad laughed.

I frowned at them all. "What's that supposed to mean?" I asked them, notably pouting.

Gary shook his head, chuckling quietly. "He means don't get your hopes up, Dawn."

"Gary is right, young Elf," broke in Oak, who it seemed had not spoken in quite a while, besides to steer us in the right direction if we veered slightly off course, or the occasional order. "You must be careful what you say here. I warn you not to look for welcome."

I nodded, feeling my enthusiasm drain away, little by little, as we neared the entrance. A flag floated down beside us as we passed through, and Gladad snorted at it.

"You'll find more cheer in a graveyard," he huffed, and I couldn't help but agree with him. Jubilife was certainly not what I had expected. I had thought it to be a happy, bustling town filled with many humans, and laughter and cheer.

But instead it was silent and sombre, and the few people that we passed were dressed all in black. They stared at us with wary silence as we passed by, and I sunk down between the reins of the horse and Ash's arms to shield myself from their intense stares.

I didn't like it here. It smelled too much of humans and of evil.

Even Bewilder was better (to a small extent, at least).

Gary looked up at a great hall ahead. There was a lady in white standing on the steps, and I could tell even from here that she was watching us like an eagle. It was very unnerving, especially since I couldn't tell whether she meant us harm or not. She didn't look very harmful, but I was not one to make a rash judgement on how dangerous someone was by the way they looked.

I looked away from the woman. "Do you know her?" I asked him, trying to read what he was thinking from the expression on his worn face.

After a quiet moment of thought, Gary shook his head. "No, I do not." Together we turned our attention back to the hall, but the woman on the steps was gone.

The company slipped of their horses and began scaling the stairs. A sharp pain shot up my leg, from my ankle, as I landed from the horse with a thud.

"Can you walk?" Ash asked me, seemingly trying to conceal the slight concern that arose in his voice.

"I could walk in the first place!" I sniffed back at him, knowing all too well that that wasn't true. My ankle was proving to be more of a liability than I had first thought. I was sure it would heal within a few minutes of walking it off, but evidently that wasn't true. But, even so, it still wouldn't carry on for much longer. I was at least sure of that.

The Elf watched me as I struggled up the first few steps. "Need help?" he offered, a smirk curling the edges of his lips. I couldn't stand this; I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of him anymore.

"No!" I insisted, wincing as more fiery pain engulfed my foot. He raised an eyebrow as I forced myself up another step.

"You sure?"

"Positive." After only a few more painful steps, I had to lean against the wall to rest my ankle. I sighed. "Fine," I said to Ash. "Do what you will. Just get it over with quickly!"

Ash smiled, sweeping my up into his arms again. "As you wish, Hybrid."

Damn, I thought he had stopped calling me that! I was so close! But it almost seemed like there was something different about the way he said it. Before when he had called me a hybrid he had said it with hatred and detest. Now, the way he spoke seemed almost as if he was... making a joke. Like he didn't actually mean to insult me.

"Hey, Ash?" I asked him, looking up. We were nearing the top of the steps now, to where the guards and the others were waiting. "Does this mean that every time I get hurt you'll carry me?" I didn't know what it was about him, but something had definitely changed. I didn't think of him as a rival, or an enemy anymore. He was almost a friend.

His arms stiffened slightly, and a smile spread across his face.

"I wouldn't count on that, Hybrid."

_Almost_

He placed me down carefully when we reached the top, taking care with my ankle. Oak was eyeing one for the guards at the door.

"Ah," he muttered, using his staff to help him step forward. The guards immediately held out their arms in the way of the door, to stop us from passing through.

"I'm sorry but I cannot allow you before our King with such weaponry, Samuel Oak. 'Tis an order."

Oak smiled. "But of course. Forgive me." He nodded understandingly and signalled for us to surrender our weapons to the guards. Gary handed over his knives and swords without question, and Ash gave a little twirl to his knives before giving them, along with his bow, to the guards. Gladad reluctantly gave them his axe, hanging onto it for an extra second or two.

"Your servant girl too," one of them said, pointing to me. I suppressed a growl.

"Servant girl," I repeated darkly under my breath, as I shoved my bow and knives into their outstretched hands. "I'm always the freaking servant girl."

Oak tried to pass through again, but once more the guards stopped him.

"Your staff."

"Hmm?" Oak looked up at them, and then glanced at his staff. "But, dear guard, you not part an old man from his walking stick would you?" He looked at the man innocently, and I tried not to smile too widely. (It serves him right for calling me a servant girl.)

The guard hesitated for a second before gesturing us into the hall. Oak winked at me as we passed through, and I grinned back.

We entered into the great hall slowly, with the Professor leaning on Ash's arm. A small, greasy-looking man, who stood near the throne, looked up and saw us, and panic flashed through his dark eyes. He leaned down and began whispering frantically into the frail King's ear.

Oak's lips tightened beneath his bushy beard, and we pulled back to survey the hall and its hostile occupants, so Oak could approach the King alone.

A group of men began to follow our steps, and as Oak began to near the King even more, the pale, greasy man began whispering to the him again.

The professor stopped a few feet away from the King and waited for him to speak.

Finally, he did. "Why should I... welcome you, Professor... Oak?" he croaked out, looking to the oily man beside him for affirmation.

The man beside the King opened his mouth to speak, but Oak threw out his arm to stop him. "Be silent, Gorm! Keep you forked tongue behind your teeth, where it belongs!" He raised his staff against Gorm and he flinched away.

"His staff!" Gorm cried, backing away. "I thought I told you to take away his staff!"

The guards surrounding us leapt out to attack.

"Don't fight," Ash hissed in my ear before he and the others began to beat them back. "Keep your status as a servant girl, for now."

"But I want to fight! I can fight with you!"

"No," he said, looking at me with hard eyes. "Don't go too close to Oak, and don't fight. It will make things easier. Besides," he said, glancing over my body and landing his gaze on my foot. "Your ankle will only slow us down."

I glared at him but didn't dare disobey, as I knew he was right. I hated when he was right.

**~0~**

I lay back on my bed, letting the soft pillow mould around my head as I put my weight on it. The last time I had slept in a proper bed was way back at Twinleaf. After that we had just had to settle for the leaves as our pillows and thin blankets to keep us warm.

We had been staying in Jubilife (having been assured by Oak that Pikachu and Umbreon were safe with their new friend) while Palmer, the King, and Garyworked out what to do with the people who inhabited Jubilfe, discussing gravely over the decision to take refuge at the nearby Oreburgh City. Gary disapproved the idea of fleeing, insisting that a great battle was imminent, whether Palmer liked it or not, but the King was stubborn, and refused to let Gary get the better over him.

I closed my eyes, relishing in the comfort. My mind drifted back to the events of the day before, the powerful words that Oak shouted to the possessed King stuck whirling around in my head.

While Gladad, Ash and Gary had fought off the guards, I had managed to stay out of there way, and watched as Oak banished Gorm and brought King Palmer back to his right mind once more.

After Oak had freed Palmer from Zager's manipulation, the King's face had begun to change gradually into that of a much younger-looking man. Clarity and recognition had returned to his eyes, and the woman in white – the same one which we had spotted on the steps to the great hall – had run to the King, tears brimming in her eyes.

"I – I recognise your face... Leona?" The King had muttered to her weakly, and the woman had nodded, more tears escaping.

The whole thing had been terrifying but fascinating to watch, but it had been such an emotional event for everyone that it was hard to shoo the scene away from my memory.

There was a knock on my door and I automatically sat up. Gary entered my room.

"Hello, master," I said a bit absentmindedly, still a bit dazed from being snapped back into reality so fast.

Gary frowned at me. "Please, Dawn, I beg of you to stop calling me that. I never was, nor will I ever be, your master!"

"But I promised I would–"

"Please, don't. It's demeaning to you, and I hate to see you force yourself like this."

"Of course," I apologized quietly, feeling a little embarrassed at my apparent mistake. I suppose it had become a habit to remind both Gary and myself that I was in his debt.

It was generally not protocol to bring a girl along on journeys, unless they were a servant, but (although it did provide a good cover for me, and stopped Gary and the others from getting in trouble with anyone we met along the way) I could see things from his point of view. He didn't want to feel like he owned me.

"So, what did you come to see me for?"

"I've been a little worried about you," Gary confessed, furrowing his brow. "You've barely left your room since we arrived here. I thought you wanted to go and explore? Is your ankle still bothering you?"

I closed my eyes, relishing in the comfort. I hesitated before replying, unsure what to say. My ankle had healed nicely within the past couple of days, and was no longer any problem to me, and he had been right that I wanted to explore Jubilife. But the sombre atmosphere outside of the great hall had put me off from looking around, and there was not much else to do besides practicing with my bow.

Unfortunately, though, I couldn't even do that. Way back, when it had just been me and Ash in Tadasea wood and he had been injured, my bow had cracked while fighting those orcs. It hadn't broken completely, but I was sure that with one more shot from it, it would snap.

I suppose I could borrow another bow from one of the armouries, but I didn't feel comfortable using a weapon that was not crafted by my own hand, or at least by one of my kind.

Also, I just didn't feel any motivation to go outside.

"No, my ankle is fine," I told him.

"Why don't you go for a walk, then?" he suggested, the concern growing in his voice.

"I'm fine, honestly,"

Gary rolled his eyes, and it was clear that he wasn't going to give up. "I just want you to get some fresh air, and not stay cooped up in here on your own. Why not do some target practice?"

I pulled out my bow and showed him the deep crack that ran across the wood. "My bow will break," I explained simply.

"You can use mine?"

I sighed and smiled at him. I guess I could borrow his bow – it would be better than taking one from the armouries, and it looked pretty Elven made. Plus, if would make Gary happy (or at least stop bothering me about leaving the hall) then I might as well comply.

Standing up and taking the less-familiar bow into my hands, I relented. "Okay, then, if you insist."

A smiled spread across the man's face, obviously satisfied with his pestering. "Thank you, Dawn, you've set my heart at ease. And I'll give your bow to Gladad, maybe he can do something about it for you," he added as I passed him and made my way to the stairs.

**~0~**

I raised Gary's bow, arrow notched and ready. It had been difficult at first to find a place to practice, since most of the other training facilities were almost full, and I wasn't sure about how they would feel with me joining them, but eventually I had found an old barn that was empty, and had set up some discarded planks of wood for targets.

Aiming carefully, I shot at the target. The arrow landed millimetres from the centre.

Cursing in Elvish, I drew another arrow, pulled back the string and fired again. The same happened, so I fired a couple more. I just couldn't seem to hit that Goddamn middle!

"Lower your elbow," spoke a low voice from behind me, just as I was about to grab another arrow again. I whipped around, to see Ash perched on a hay bale, leaning his arm on his knee casually. A smirk was hidden well between the corners of his lips, but that didn't conceal any of his amusement.

He was laughing at my failure. Great.

I glared at him, fitting the arrow into my bow. "I know how to shoot, thank you very much," I growled, trying to keep my voice under control. Things had become pretty neutral between us recently, but that didn't mean I couldn't get annoyed at him. He was still the same Elf that criticised and judged me at everything I did, even if we had created a mutual agreement not to be too hard on each other. "I don't need your mentoring."

Ash shrugged, now giving up on trying to hide his smirk. He pulled himself to his feet and hopped off the hay bale. "I'm not trying to mentor you, Dawn. I think you're an excellent marksman! But there are still some things that you need to work on."

"Such as?"

"Such as lowering your elbow when you fire. Or not trying to put so much strength into it. Or just relaxing the whole movement."

I pursed my lips. I was annoyed at him, that part was true, but part of me knew he was right. Maybe I could better from his advice? (Well, not to my liking, at least.)

Pressing my bow into his hand and handing him a couple of arrows, I stood back to watch the master at work. "All right then. You do it."

Calmly and silently he notched one of the arrows and fired it. It hit the centre mark perfectly. Then he fired again, with another perfect shot.

I glared at him, wrenching my bow back from his hands. "Show off," I muttered, fitting another arrow. But before I could pull back the string, I felt Ash behind me.

"Here, let me show you." He stood behind me, fitting his arms and hands over mine – they were cold, and I shivered at his touch, even in the lukewarm sunlight. Where my elbow was so was his, and he pushed it down lightly. Where I held onto the wooden bow, so did he, and where my fingers pinched the string, his did too.

As he pulled his arms slowly back, to fire, he moved me along with him. "See, like this. You've got to make the whole movement smoother, make it flow like water. With your elbow too high it makes the position of your arm awkward, and it breaks the pattern. Relax your grip, and don't put so much effort into pulling the string back. If you have the right movement, the string should pull back easier."

I nodded, tilting my head to look up at him. His eyes were soft – he was really was trying to help me better my skills – and slightly closed with concentration. His body was warm were it pressed against mine, and his breath ran down my neck as he spoke, hot but sending shivers rippling across my skin.

"Line the tip of the arrow just above where you are trying to hit. Like this." He shifted the position of his – our – arms and brought my fingers off the string.

The arrow hit the target dead centre, next to his.

He pulled away from me, though he was still holding onto my bow, which also meant my hands. I hope he couldn't feel my heart thumping at his touch... how embarrassing that would be.

After a while, I chanced a look at his face again, surprised to be met with a clear view into the beautiful Elf's eyes, a look in which I could not yet read.

I pulled down the bow, feeling his palms slide off me and the back of my hands meet with the cold air. This little moment which we seemed to be sharing had stirred up emotions inside of me, emotions which I was too afraid to delve further into discovering.

Raising his eyebrow, he waited for my response.

"That was..." I trailed off, trying to think of a word that wouldn't compliment him too much. "Impressive."

Ash didn't reply, but instead smiled, like he agreed with me.

"Do you need to be so amazing at everything? Or do you just do it to annoy me?" I asked him, trying not to feel too overwhelmed by the sparks of warmth and magic I felt shooting up though my arms from where his hands pressed over mine.

"A little of both," he grinned back, his voice teasing, and winked at me.

**Did you guys like the pearlshippy moment? I hope so!**

**I'll see you guys in the next chapter, in which some will be in Ash's perspective, and when everything goes downhill…**

**Also, since it's the holidays for me, I'm going to be uploading more regularly, so maybe every 4 days instead of a week and a bit. I may even do it more regularly than that depending on the support I get.**

**Please comment and review, thanks!**

**Oh yeah, and sorry for the short chapter, the next one will be longer... hopefully!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey!**

**Here's my new chapter, with the much anticipated 'Ash POV'! **

**Sorry if there aren't that many emotions and feelings mixed with Ash's POV, but I have planned another so don't get to disappointed yet.**

**Also, huge thanks for hitting 1,000 views! I really appreciate it, and I think the story hit it around Saturday or Sunday, not sure.**

**Oh yeah, a suggestion was made in the reviews, so here it is! :P If you have any suggestions, be sure to let me know and I'll most likely use them if they're not too eccentric. **

**Now, we join our heroes back at the barn…**

"A little of both," he grinned back, his voice teasing, and winked at me. My face flushed with heat and I diverted my gaze instead to the arrow-laden target, mulling

As soon as his hands had left mine I was missing them. But I needn't miss them for long, for as his hands slipped away, his lips were softly pressed against my own.

My head was spinning. I didn't know whether I should pull away or lean in further. Some part of me didn't want to do anything. It just wanted to wait and see what Ash would do, for this moment never to end.

A question burned in my mind: Did I kiss him or did he kiss me? It had all happened so fast, I wasn't sure who had made the first move. All I remember was the sensation of his lips against mine.

But before I could wrap my mind fully around the situation, we broke apart, shattering our connection. I gazed up at him, my jaw loose and open with shock, the taste of his lips still lingering and fizzling on my own.

There was a moment of quiet as we both waited for the other to talk. Finally, not being able to stand the silence, I opened my mouth and spoke. My mouth was dry, and I wasn't sure what would come out, but, nevertheless, I was more than happy to break the quiet.

"I-I'm sorry... I didn't mean for us to... you know," I apologised, still unsure what had just happened.

He nodded slowly and understandingly, but it annoyed me that he still didn't speak. I suppose he wasn't as perfectly cool and calm as I had previously thought. There might just be some things that rile him up enough to change his personality momentarily.

I guess one of those things is me.

There were so many feelings buzzing around inside me. I was so confused! I didn't know if I wanted to feel this way, to actually want to have him kiss me, to be close to me like this. It made me feel so vulnerable, a feeling which I was certain I didn't like. I was so used to having him ridicule me, for him only coming close to me when he needed to.

But now this? Was this supposed to mean something? How was I supposed to know what it meant, or how I felt?

There was too much confliction crashing about in my mind, it was just as awful as the deafening silence we had shared moments before.

"Maybe I should go," I said, unable to stand much more of this panic. I didn't know how I felt and I didn't want to be around him until I had figured myself out. Until I had figured out why we had done that.

Or maybe it wasn't us. Maybe it was just me?

"Dawn, wait–"

My mind was so numb; everything seemed to be going by in slow motion. I was still trying to readjust my mind back to reality, for everything to process and come together. All I really knew was that I was leaving to find a place where I could bring myself together again, and that he didn't try to follow me. I still wasn't sure whether or not I had enjoyed it, whether I had wanted him to stop.

I tried not to break into a run, however much I wanted to. I didn't know if he was still watching after me, or if he had gone yet, but I was too afraid to look back.

What had I done? Did I mean to... to kiss him? I didn't want him to think that there was something between us, and I certainly didn't want him to think that I actually felt for him.

"Are you looking for something?" I voice asked me and I whipped around. I had been so caught up inside my own thoughts, that being brought back to the real world so quickly had been a big shock.

I looked around to see the woman in the white dress that we had spotted a few days before. I hadn't been able to get a good look at her before, but seeing her close up I realised she was quite pretty. Palmer had called her a name before, but it had slipped my mind for the time being.

As I studied the woman, she took the chance to speak to me. "You're that Elf that arrived with Gary and the other travellers, aren't you?" she asked cautiously, taking a step towards me. She must have judged from the expression on my face that I was deep in thought, and didn't want to annoy me.

I nodded, shaking my head to free myself from the memory that had happened moments ago. I needed time to think about Ash, but that didn't mean I wanted to. Talking to this girl would be a perfect distraction.

"I am. You've spoken to them?" I asked, curious to know whether my friends had mentioned me at all.

"I have," the girl answered, then furrowed her brow at me. "Gary was worried about you. He said you seemed very reserved lately, and wasn't leaving the great hall much. But I can see he was just fretting over shadows."

I smirked at the thought of Gary complaining and worrying to this poor girl about me. No wonder she felt the need to talk to me, she must know half my life story already.

"Yes, he came and spoke to me earlier. I agreed to leave to keep him quiet," I admitted, and the girl laughed, almost blushing at the subject of Gary. "I'm Dawn, by the way," I said, feeling guilty for having such a light-hearted conversation without knowing the other participants name.

"Alice," she introduced herself, extending her hand. I took it and smiled at her. As people began to fill the streets again (the effects of the lazy lunch period wearing off), she took me to a small, quiet area where we could sit down and continue our little chat without interruption. "So, have you been travelling with Gary for long?"

I shrugged, thinking back. "I guess so. I'm not really sure; we haven't really been keeping track of the time. Long enough," I grinned.

"What's it like travelling with three men? Do you get _distracted_?" she asked and giggled. I narrowed my eyes at her, but she didn't notice. "What are they like?"

Jokingly I asked, "Are you always this curious?" and she nodded and crossed her arms defensively. I didn't want to feel like I had offended her, so answered her question. "Gary is exactly the man you'd expect him to be. He's strong, fearless, and always willing for everything to go out good, but sometimes he can be a bit too fatherly." I noted back to him worrying over me, a small smile twitching at the corners of my lips. "Gladad is great. I love him like he was my brother. I've never really been associated with Dwarves, considering the way I was brought up, but if they are all as sweet as him, then I would be happy to meet many more. And Ash..." I sighed, contemplating what to say next. "I don't know what to think of him. Usually we don't get along too well, but things seem to be okay lately... well, they used to be okay," I added onto the end, muttering the final sentence under my breath so that Alice wouldn't hear me.

Alice tightened her lips, seemingly confused about something. "Really, you don't get along with him? I would have thought that you guys would be close?"

"Close wouldn't exactly be the word I would use. Put it this way... he's just so completely... _impossible_."

There was literally no other word for him. I was just so confused right now; there were just so many conflicting emotions. I didn't know whether rejecting my feelings for the Elf was the right course of action, but I couldn't backpedal now. Not yet, at least.

But right now, I just wanted to continue my conversation with my new friend in peace, without having his face crossing my mind. I didn't even want to say his name. Alice was my distraction from him, and I just hoped with all my heart that she would be enough.

Alice pulled up her legs onto the bench, and stared at me deeply. "Okay, tell me what's up."

"Nothing..." I shrugged, avoiding eye contact – I knew what she was like, and she knew me pretty well by now too, so it was only a matter of time before she figured something was wrong "My mind has just been elsewhere, that is all."

"How so?"

I thought back to Ash, and how he had seemingly been making a great effort to avoid me. It did strike me as quite strange, though, as why I would think this as unusual off him, since it wasn't uncommon for him to ignore me. If anything, it meant that things were finally going back to normal.

It was just the fact that he had instantly stuck in my mind that irritated me. That was the unusual thing.

I remembered the soft, tingling sensation of his lips, the magic that had sizzled across my skin where he touched me, as light as a butterfly, and immediately got even angrier at myself. I had had so little time, since it had happened, to even recall the incident exactly, with every detail clear as day.

I still didn't even know whether I had enjoyed it or not... Maybe I had acted too rashly before when telling him it didn't mean anything. I didn't even know whether or not his reply had meant to hurt me so much, yet somehow it did.

Straight after it had happened I had been too bewildered and confused to ever wonder that I might have enjoyed it, and sure I had remembered it occasionally since then, but I had never permitted the memory to stay for more than a few seconds – there had just been no time to evaluate my opinion about it!

But, even so, I couldn't like it. I wouldn't allow myself to. The feelings I got from Ash were far too strange, far too alien to me, and right now I really couldn't take any more stress.

"Just... elsewhere. It's not really very important, I've just been distracted, that's all."

With a frustrated little sound that told me she was annoyed that I was being difficult, she cocked her head to the side and pleaded with her eyes. "I know something is wrong, Dawn. You don't need to be much of a seer to figure that out." She took my hands and gave them a reassuring squeeze. "Tell me? Is it still Gary that's bothering you? Or maybe someone who's giving you a hard time? Or maybe–"

"Please, Alice, stop trying to guess my problems. It's none of your business, all right?" As soon as the words had escaped my lips I instantly regretted them. I hadn't meant to snap at her, it had just sort of come out. I was dealing with a lot right now, and being harassed wasn't exactly helping.

Truth being, though, I was just unsure about telling her the truth. I hadn't known her for particularly long, but in the short time we had been friends, we had certainly become close. But could I really trust her? I couldn't have her mistaking in thinking that I actually liked Ash, so telling her that he was the source might make her get the wrong idea...

But she was my friend, surely I should tell her about my troubles...

"I... I think I may have made a mistake, one that I'm not sure how to fix. In fact, I'm not even sure if it was a mistake – I'm still deciding that."

Alice pulled a face in thought, but eventually she decided that the vague amount of information I had given her wasn't enough for her to arrive to a helpful conclusion. "Sorry, I won't nag. But is there anything else you can give me that will help?"

I badly wanted to tell her... to tell someone! Should I risk it?

Yes. She was my friend, so she deserved to know.

"Okay," I sighed, crawling closer to make a point of the secrecy that must be held in order for me to explain fully. "I... I think I'll tell you. But you must promise not to tell anyone else, got it? I just... I don't know what to think of it yet."

"I promise, Dawn," she agreed with a nod and a smile.

So, slowly, I began recalling the eventful tale that led to me being in such a mood, starting from when Gary had complained for me to get up, passing through the barn scene (which involved the kiss, my main dilemma), involving various points from yesterday's strained conversation, and ending with right now. I did miss out the part about me running away from him after we had kissed, since that didn't sound very good on my part – I just skipped ahead to when I had met with her.

When I had finished, I caught Alice staring at me long and hard. She looked thoughtful, and I didn't want to risk interrupting whatever was going on in her mind, so I stayed still and silent with anticipation.

Finally, she laid her hands down flat on the bed and let her inner most thoughts spill out. "Personally, I think you should follow your heart. I know you tend to be quite a headstrong kind of person, Dawn, but just think for a moment – what good has that done you in your life?"

Reluctantly, I sighed. "Not much, I suppose..."

She raised an eyebrow and nodded matter-of-factly. "Exactly. So, for once, why don't you try listening to your heart instead? You never know, it might actually work."

"But I've tried that!" I groaned, letting myself fall backwards onto the pillows. I wasn't sure if I actually had tried it, to be honest, but I was sure it wouldn't be much help. Aren't hearts and heads supposed to think alike? And anyway, I wasn't so keen on the idea. If my head said no, surely my heart wouldn't have much better to say.

And even worse, what if it did? What if it said I did like him... preposterous, of course. That stuck-up, smart-mouthed, no-good jerk is probably the last person I would ever think of falling in love with!

Alice frowned at my immediate dismissal at the idea. "Have you actually? I mean, I know this might seem like very mediocre advice, but in a sense it's true. Your heart might have a lot more to say than you think."

I pulled a face at her. "Trust me, I've tried it," I lied, still wondering whether or not I actually had.

"Yes, but have you actually tried listening to it?"

**~0~**

**Ash's POV (at last! :P)**

The path to Oreburgh City was long and tiring for the poor villagers, but nevertheless they were standing strong and pushing themselves forward. It was no secret that they were scared, but it was their King's decision and therefore they trusted his judgement.

"Oreburgh City!" I could hear Gladad cry, even when a considerable distance behind him. "They flee to the mountains when they should stand and fight. Who will defend them if not their king?" He was travelling ahead of me with Alice and Dawn, and grumbling loudly much to their amusement.

Although both Gary and I agreed with Gladad's objecting views, Gary respected Palmer's decision and followed the others without complaint. I knew he could have led his people far better than Palmer ever could, but the King was only doing what he thought was best for his people, even if that meant fleeing.

"We should stand and fight, if you ask my opinion," sniffed Dawn, crossing her arms and flicking back her hair. It glinted in the sunlight, flashing white and then a glistering blue. Gladad grunted in agreement and patted her back.

A smile ghosted across my lips and I inwardly laughed at her stubbornness. I still didn't understand quite what had happened to us that one afternoon, but it seemed we were both quite happy in pretending that nothing had ever happened. But even so, it still felt as if we trying to talk as little as possible, and avoided any chance of face-to-face contact that arose. She didn't particularly want to see me, and I didn't want to see her. This was our mutual agreement.

Though I couldn't escape the thoughtful look that crossed her face every time our eyes happened to meet. I didn't know what it meant!

I hated this feeling. Never in my life had I known confusion on such a drastically emotional level before I had met that infuriating little half-Elf. There is a word in Elvish that describes her perfectly, a word which I had heard her frequently use to describe me. _Únyárima._

_Impossible._

Alice laughed and put an arm around her new friend. "Maybe you would fight better if you tried your luck on a horse?" she queried smugly, bringing around the reins of Gladad's horse and presenting them to Dawn.

She flinched back from them as the horse followed the path of its reins and turned its head. "I don't think so," she replied quickly.

Alice grinned, bringing the horse's head closer and giving it a quick peck on the cheek. "Oh, he won't hurt you!" she cooed, before it reared and bolted forward, Gladad still caught on its saddle.

"I'm okay, I'm okay! That was deliberate!" he insisted, pulling himself back onto the horse's back and dusting himself off. "I did that deliberately."

Dawn turned to Alice and raised an eyebrow. "As funny as that was, I still don't like horses," she stated firmly.

"Ash," Gary appeared behind me, his gaze set on the horizon. I thought for a minute that he was worried, waiting for something to appear, but then he allowed a smile to cross his face and it instantly broke the serious atmosphere. "You know it is not polite to eavesdrop on other people's conversations. Especially of your own kin."

I quickly drew my attention away from the trio. "Sorry," I apologised, "My mind had drifted elsewhere. Besides," I added with a returning smirk, "I suppose you could say it's quite fun watching Gladad fall off a horse."

"_Deliberately_," he reminded me, laughing.

Suddenly, a horn blew, the deep sound reverberating across the hills. Gary instinctively reached out and traced the pattern of the Evenstar necklace that was clasped around his neck. The horses were becoming restless around us and we looked around anxiously.

A scout mounted on a wolf appeared on the top of a slope and charged at us, attacking a soldier and killing him instantly.

"Wolves!" cried a couple of terrified villagers, and immediately panic spread throughout the masses of people. Before it could kill anymore though, I ran on ahead and swiftly took my bow from my back and fired an arrow through its head. Then I drew my knife and killed the scout that was on its back.

"A scout!" I yelled back to Gary, my eyes flickering over the terror-crazed people to pick out my friends. Luckily Dawn had kept close to Gladad, so I could trust him to keep her safe. Why I cared so much puzzled me, but then again, I cared about all of my companions. "We're under an attack!"

Gazing into the distance I saw many more ward riders approaching us fast, kicking up a trail of dust as they went. "Quickly, they are nearing us!"

I heard Palmer send off Alice to get the villagers to safety, and after a few protest she did as she was asked. She reminded me of Dawn, which must have been why they had become such fast friends – but this was no time to think about their similarities.

Taking aim at a distant target, I shot an arrow and felled another rider.

"Charge!" cried Palmer, with his soldiers close behind. They crashed head on with the wolf riders and the battle began. As Gladad rode past me I grabbed onto the reins and swung smoothly onto the horse, firing more arrows as we went.

A few minutes into the battle, I heard a familiar yell and turned around just in time to see Gary get knocked off his horse, and ambushed by a rider he had been sparring with previously. He tried to kill with a sharp blow of his sword, but the rider blocked his attempt and grabbed Gary by the neck.

Jumping off of my horse and leaving Gladad to fight alone, I ran forward to help my friend, as they were both dragged forward by the dying wolf. In the struggle, the rider was thrown off, but Gary tried to let go of the wolf but found himself tangled with the reins.

"Gary!" I shouted to him, watching in horror as the wolf ran dangerously close to the edge of a cliff. He tried unsuccessfully to disentangle himself and was dragged closer and closer to the edge at great speed.

Before I could get close enough to help him, the wolf ran right off the cliff and they both disappeared over the edge.

Watching Gary fall over the cliff edge was like a kick in the stomach. The battle was winding down but I still clutched feverishly to my bow, my spare hand hovering over my quiver, ready to draw another arrow. I didn't believe the battle was over; it wouldn't end without Gary by his friends' sides.

Like me, Dawn had caught the whole scene, and she pushed through the crowds to where I was standing.

"No!" she cried, and I swear I caught a glimpse of tears brimming in her eyes. It was a strange thought seeing Dawn tear up, since it had just occurred to me that I had actually never seen her cry. I knew she had seen death before, but I didn't think she had ever seen the death of someone she loved. I didn't expect her to have ever experienced something like that.

She ran to the edge of the cliff, and I immediately pelted after her, suddenly scared that she would do something stupid and follow him off the edge. I grabbed her wrist and yanked her back as she tried to thrash and tear herself from my grip to follow our lost friend.

"There's nothing we can do for him now," Gladad grunted, wiping away tears from his eyes before they dripped down his cheeks and soaked through his beard.

After a few more moments of fierce shouting and attempting to fight her way out of my grip so she could follow Gary, the devastated Elf slowed to a standstill and wept deeply onto my shoulder. Gladad came and put an arm around her and I left her with him.

Like Dawn, I was anguished by Gary's death, but the full force of the grief didn't seem to have set in yet. Instead of sadness all I felt was intense anger. I didn't want to believe he was dead. I knew Gary, and I knew for a fact that nobody could take him down that easily.

From behind me I heard spiteful wheezing and laughing. I whipped around to see the rider who had been fighting with my lost friend watching our little scene with great amusement.

Furious, I grabbed his throat and watched the dying creature cough and splutter our more laughter.

"Tell me what exactly happened to Gary," I demanded through clenched teeth. "He can't be dead, not now." In truth, I wasn't sure if even I myself believe what I was saying. I was just desperate for it to be true.

Shaking his head and cackling, he creaked his head to the side and looked at the edge of the cliff. "Too bad. You're friend's dead. Took a little tumble off the cliff, if you didn't notice!" he replied around a few bloody coughs and snickers.

I followed his gaze and watched as half-hearted Gladad tried to console an equally grief-stricken Dawn. Her face was red and her eyes were puffy from crying so much, and now – instead of trying to leap after Gary – she refused to look at the crumbled cliff edge.

My grip instantly tightened around the rider's neck as I saw what pain he had caused her, caused us all. "You lie!"

But before I could draw and answer from his dying lips, he chortled evilly and held out his outstretched hand as the last remnants of his sorry life left his body. If the rider hadn't died here and now, I think I would've ripped his throat out the way I had the first scout.

My eyes flickered to the mangled hand he had presented to me, but more importantly what was in it. A sparkling silver chain entwined around his ugly fingers, and pressed into the centre of his palm was the Evenstar, the necklace and symbol of eternal love that he had received from Leaf.

Slipping the necklace into a pouch on my belt, I discarded the body behind me and went to go help Gladad with Dawn.

"Get the wounded on horses!" Palmer ordered his men, and they immediately began to do as he said. "The wolves will return and finish us, if we do not leave shortly. Leave the dead."

I couldn't help but feel that he had directed his last order toward us, and that by 'dead' he had been speaking of Gary.

"I refuse to leave him," Dawn sniffed, hooping her arm around mine and doing a similar action to Gladad. She linked the three of us and held us close.

I looked to her face and saw more, gentler, tears tracing tracks down her red cheeks, her usually bright, cheerful blue eyes dimmed to a soggy, grim grey. Although she didn't say much more after that, I saw her keen gaze frantically searching over the edge of the cliff, studying the rushing waters below with great intensity, trying to find even the slightest sign on him.

I knew I mustn't have been the only one who heard dead as Gary.

"Come now, we mustn't let the others leave us, or we shall have another unfortunate meeting with the wolves and may lose another." Gladad was reluctant to leave, but it didn't seem he wanted to stay much longer on the site of Gary's death.

Dawn didn't move except to relax her arm and let Gladad slip out of her grip. If she moved it would feel like she was leaving Gary for good, and I understood that need to hold onto what little there was left of him. That was why I had kept the Evenstar.

Once Gladad had left us alone, Dawn began to cry again. "He's gone for good, isn't he?" she asked meekly, reaching around and taking hold of my other wrist. She did it hesitantly, which made me think she was a little uncomfortable with us being so close together, especially after the kiss we had shared, and to be honest I was feeling slightly awkward around her too. But I needed to make it clear that I was there for her, and I felt the same devastation as she did, so as she took up my wrist in her palm, I slipped my hand into hers instead.

Her hands were warm and were a bit damp with tears; I held it tightly, surprising myself with how glad I was that she was acknowledging me again. "I think so," I replied dejectedly, still trying to grasp the concept of Gary's death myself.

I knew it wasn't what she wanted to her when she sniffed sadly and let more tears escape, but it was the truth and I guess we both needed to accept that.

Resting her head against my shoulder, Dawn sniffed again, choking back even more tears. "I don't want to leave him," she admitted to me, her eyes ever stuck watching the deep drop below the cliff, like she was expecting him to suddenly return.

"Neither do I. But Gladad is right – we shall have to follow the others soon, or the wolves will return. I would hate to lose you as well."

She nodded and lifted her head up, drawing back her body. It pained me to see her like this, but there was nothing I could do for now.

I gave her a slight push forward and she ran on ahead, then opened my palm to look at the Evenstar. I was left alone by the cliff trying not to contemplate the irony of the situation too much. I held in my hand what had been Gary's Evenstar, the jewel of Elven immortality, and yet it was all that was left of my mortal friend.

**Oh noo! Poor Gary!**

**Now, as our heroes approach Oreburgh City, one short in number and with heavy hearts, one can only wonder what can happen next!**

**^That was my attempt at a narrator voice thingy, I know, it was terrible XD**

**But, Dawn and Ash kissed! :D Bet you weren't expecting that… or maybe you were?**

**Oh yeah, and before I forget, I'm going to publish a OneShot later today, it is going to be AshxDawn, but probably no pearlshipping in it. However, if I make a sequel, that will definitely be pearlshipping! Please go check it out, it should be uploaded either one or two hours after this, or sometime tomorrow. Thanks in advance :D**

**Anyways, see you all in the next chapter! **

**Please comment and review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Here's the next chapter everyone!**

**Sorry there isn't much interaction between Ash and Dawn in this one, but they(well, at least Dawn) are thinking about each other throughout the whole thing, so don't worry.**

**I think I'll need to put in a battle scene ranging from the end of the next chapter to the chapter after, sorry about that! But, after that, there won't be another one for quite some time… hopefully :P**

**Also on a side note, thanks so much for 30 reviews :D I really appreciate the support! Reviews are much appreciated, and thanks to all that do :)**

**Oh, and I released a OneShot, please go check it out! It's called 'The Problem with Apples', so enjoy that too.**

It was nearing the evening when we finally entered into Oreburgh City. The sun was still fairly high, but the sky encasing it was greying considerably, and the air was growing colder and colder the longer we spent outside. Insects buzzed in what little warmth was left, though I felt nothing but cold. The smell of blood, dirt and sweat mingled with my breath, evidence of the hard travel which we had all just partaken in. Everyone was exhausted.

After all of us had finally torn ourselves away from the site of Gary's death, I had become parted from Gladad and Ash sometime during the journey; Gladad had been the first to leave the battle grounds, out of the three of us, and Ash had been the last.

Gladad and Ash. It hurt just to even think their names. It was no longer Gladad, Ash, and Gary anymore. Just Gladad and Ash.

Fate's cruel. I miss him so much.

I saw Alice ahead of me, waiting on the steps and cheerily accepting gratitude from the refugees that were thanking her for getting them to safety. One elderly woman took up my friend's hands and held them close within her own and blessed her heartily, leaving her smiling warmly after the woman as she left.

It made me angry, watching them. How could they be so cheerful when Gary's lifeless body was probably getting shredded to pieces by the jagged rocks and rushing rapids below that cliff? They shouldn't be so happy. Right now, no one should.

But, then again, I forget that Alice is blissfully unaware of Gary's death. She wasn't affected by the grim cloud of mourning that hung over my head, following my every step – not yet at least, but I'm sure it was only a matter of time.

As the rest of the soldiers and their horses rode into Oreburgh City, Gladad met Alice on the stairs, and purely judging from his morbid expression, you could tell that she guessed something was wrong. Instantly, her eyes sought through the crowd, but she could not find what she was looking for. The person she was looking for.

"My Lady..." the Dwarf grunted, burying his face in his hands and shaking his head. Already, her face had fallen into a sad, confused frown. She placed a hand on his shoulder, gently prompting him to speak.

"Where is Lord Gary?" she asked meekly, ideas beginning to form inside her head about what might have happened to him. "Did he not arrive back with the others?"

Slowly Gladad shook his head. "I'm sorry, no. He fell..."

Alice looked shaken at the news. Nearby, Palmer was watching the exchange of words between the two, much like I was, and when Alice saw him she raised teary eyes to the King. He looked down and walked away, confirming her unasked question – Gary really was dead.

I couldn't bear this any longer. It was too soon, too soon to be talking about it, or reminding me about what had happened to my friend. I knew that Alice needed to be told eventually, but I didn't want to be around when it happened. She might need my comfort, though I'm sure it would probably end up with her comforting me.

It was a shame, really, since I had held myself together so well on the rest of the journey up here, but now it seemed I was at my breaking point.

Stinging tears began to trace tracks down my cheeks and I broke into a run, ignoring the few looks I was getting from the people I passed. Alice and Gladad noticed me as well, and called out as I rushed past, but I didn't respond to their shouts.

The open grounds of Oreburgh were full to the brim with refugees and soldiers, and it took a while for me to find a spot where I could just sit and pull myself back together, but eventually I found a small corner, right at the back, where I could let out the rest of my tears privately, and people would pass by without noticing.

I still couldn't believe it – though maybe believe wasn't the right word? I just couldn't accept it, made more sense.

From the moment I first met the man, I never thought I would be there to see his death. I suppose it didn't help that when I had first met Gary I had an arrow pointed at his throat, but I still didn't expect for him to leave our company so soon.

I saw Ash approaching from afar, breaking my sombre train of thought. When he came nearer, he didn't notice me at first and almost walked straight past. But nothing could escape his eyes and he spotted me seconds after. After giving me a rather curious look, to my surprise, he came and claimed the spot next to me.

I definitely didn't want to be alone with him, and I was pretty damn sure that he didn't want to be alone with me either. However, I was grateful for the presence of another person, a fellow Elf at that. It made me feel more at ease, despite our rocky history together.

We sat together in silence, neither of us wanting to be the first one to talk. I didn't even want to look at him – it was too much of a reminder to our little... intimate incidence before. So instead I crossed my arms over my knees and withdrew myself in, taking a sudden interest in my nails.

Eventually the festering quiet grew too much for me. "Why are you here?" I stated firmly, still refusing to tear my concentration away from my hands.

He threw back his shoulders in a small shrug, not even understanding himself the reason of his arrival. "You looked like you needed company. Besides, I don't like to see you like this." There was a slight pause. Something told me he wasn't used to trying to cheer people up – though, I supposed where he came from, nobody needed cheering up, which explained his lack of experience. "Why did you run off?" he spoke softly and cautiously, as if he was addressing a small child or an injured animal. Normally this would irritate me, being spoken down to like that, but I knew he was only trying to help.

I didn't have the energy or the tenacity to come up with some elaborate lie that would hopefully trick him into thinking I wasn't weak and dependant on someone else's comfort to help get me through this, so I just sighed and slowly let the truth slip out.

"I heard Gladad telling Alice about Gary's... you know." I couldn't even bring myself to say the word death, but thankfully Ash nodded understandingly. I shrugged, brushing back my hair and thumbing it behind my ear so it didn't stick to my still damp cheeks. "I guess I just couldn't deal with the reminder."

We stopped talking momentarily and I stared up at the growing darkness of the sky, pinks and oranges mixing in with the fading blue. The sun's light still looked golden though.

"Here," Ash said, extending his hand out to me. There was something curled in his fist and I tilted my head curiously at it, wondering what could be inside. "I'm not sure it will help, but I reckon you should see it."

I outstretched my palm below his fist and he dropped a sparkling jewel into my hand. It was a pretty, intricate design of silver and gemstones, and it had a thin metal chain that spilled over the edge of my hand.

It was the Evenstar, and it had belonged to Gary.

My mouth fell at the recognition of the pendant. "Oh, Arceus... where did you get this from?" I asked, unable to close my gawping mouth I was so full of awe. I looked up at him, inquisition burning in my eyes.

Ash seemed a little hesitant to say at first, his mouth contorting into a thin scowl as he thought back, but then he relented. "I took it from the Orc that killed him. He must have ripped it off Gary before he fell." His voice was suddenly cold and bitter with distaste as he remembered all too clearly Gary's murderer.

Before I could stop myself, fresh tears were flowing freely down my face and soaked into the material of clothes. I didn't mean to keep crying, but what else was I to do? I was practically helpless.

Quickly, I took up his hand and pressed the pendant softly back into his palm before it got drenched in my tears. "I'm so sorry you have to see my like this," I sniffed, wiping my red and swollen eyes with the back of my hand. "I hate crying, but right now I can't seem to help myself."

He chuckled quietly. "Crying is not a bad thing. Everybody does it occasionally."

"You don't."

"You don't know that, you've never seen me." He had a point. "Why are you so afraid of crying?" he asked me, a small smile playing on the edges of his lips. He reached out and caught one of my tears on the tip of his finger.

I was startled by his touch, and suddenly afraid. What if something happened between us again? Or even worse, what if I liked it? I wasn't sure I could deal with anymore drama, especially considering the broken state I was in right now.

Swallowing hard, I thought carefully about his question. "I don't know," I admitted, a little embarrassed to confess the answer I had deducted for myself straight away. "Don't tears show signs of weakness? Of vulnerability?"

At hearing this, he laughed again. I didn't like hearing him laugh, especially at my expense. It was too much of a pretty sound. "I figured that might be what you thought," he said with a small smirk.

I frowned at him, unamused. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"It means there's no reason to hide yourself in corners when you want to cry," he replied, gesturing to the little nook I had found for myself. "I wouldn't think yourself as strong for trying to keep tears in. Strength is having the courage to let them out."

"And why exactly are you telling me this?"

He shrugged. "You seemed like you could use the information. It might help."

I tutted and rolled my eyes, trying not to let him see the smile that was attempting to escape onto my lips. "You always seem to be telling me what to do. This is just like back in Jubilife, when we –" Damn! Why did I have to mention that! Trust me to go and open my big mouth just when I shouldn't. Well, I've started it now, I can't just stop mid-sentence or he might guess what I was on about. Hopefully he won't notice. "– when you were helping me shoot better." I finished off feebly, internally scolding myself for mentioning it.

It was in the barn, in Jubilife, where we had mistakenly kissed. All this casual conversation had started to make me feel a little better, but since I was stupid enough to mention that, I was instantly feeling worried that he might catch on. I was really hoping he had forgotten that moment, like I was trying to.

"Can you blame me for trying to help those in need?" he joked back, though his voice was slightly weaker than it usually was.

Suddenly, and without my permission, the conflicted emotions which I had felt for the Elf moments after our kiss (which I had hoped to have pressed down and concealed until I finally knew what to think of him) resurfaced in a rush of colour and sizzling effect, curling and tightening in my gut when, for the first time during our little meeting, I glanced at his face. Only this time, the power they held over me was by far stronger, mixing in with the guilt and wrenching agony I felt for Gary.

Most of the refugees had taken shelter inside the actual fortress-City now, so it was pretty much just us out here by ourselves. I dug my nails into my knees and tensed my legs, ready to get up and leave.

Damn... I knew I was going to regret this but I felt I needed to explain, however briefly. Then I could just get up and go, and hopefully find somewhere I could rest in peace and dream away today's events.

"By the way... what happened between us in Jubilife... I don't know what happened back there, but it was nothing. I swear it doesn't mean anything." And with that I flew to my feet and clutched anxiously at the edge of my cloak, wanting badly to wait for his response before I left.

Standing up in a similar fashion, Ash nodded, agreeing with me, and said, "Fine by me, I never thought otherwise," and brushed past me to go his own separate way.

For those next few moments, I swear, silence had never been so loud.

**~0~**

"For the last time, Alice, I'm telling you, I'm fine!" I struggled against her as she tried to pin me down on a bed and thrust a cold hand upon my cheek and forehead to feel my temperature. She had been insisting I was sick, ever since we had first began to settle down in Oreburgh City, but I had tried to tell her over and over again that I wasn't. Could Elves even get sick? I suppose since I was a half-Elf I was more prone to disease, but even so I still had better immunity than others. I really wish she had more faith in me, however reckless I might seem at first.

"Of course you believe you're fine, you're as stubborn as mule!" she countered with harshly before starting up another wrestling match as I sat up again. "You wouldn't think you were hurt if you had your leg cut off." She was calling _me_ stubborn? That was rich, coming from her. At least I wasn't the one trying to tie her down on a bed!

I pouted, crossing my arms. "That's not true."

With a laugh, she patted my arm and then reached over me to pick up a bowl of stew. "I don't like seeing you like this. You've been acting so strangely since we arrived here, and I just want you to get back to your usual self again. So please?" she offered me the bowl with a kind smile and I hesitantly took it, trying to hide my distaste. "Just let me help you."

I couldn't bear her leering over me with that anticipating smile she had so perfectly mastered, so, with a wince, I scooped up a spoonful and a took a deep breath before gulping it down.

I may have been her friend, but even I could admit that the girl couldn't cook to save her life. If anything, her cooking took away more lives than it saved. But at least she tried her best, and I knew she was only trying to care for me (even if it was totally pointless).

After taking another forced bite of her disgusting slop, I replaced the wooden bowl back onto the table and patted her knee.

"Thanks, I, err, feel better now. Really good." If anything, I felt even worse, and I hadn't even been sick in the first place! But nevertheless, I ploughed on.

Alice frowned, clearly unconvinced. There had been something different about her since Gary's death, and although I knew she was in just as much pain as I was, I still couldn't quite place my finger on what exactly it was. She had definitely had some sort of soft spot for him, that much I knew, but I didn't expect her to be so mournful over him until one day, when I had most certainly been feeling at my lowest, she had snapped and told me that "I wasn't the only who missed him".

Of course, soon after, she had burst into tears and hugged me, telling me she was sorry over and over again, but it was still a shock to see the strong, level-headed woman which I had first become friends with fall apart like this.

I tried to be there for her even more after that; she had been my first proper friend since I had left Twinleaf, and I didn't want to lose her so soon after we had gotten close.

"You still don't want me to help you, do you?"

What is there to help? I had insisted about a million times that just because I was acting a bit strangely, that did not mean I was sick! By Arceus, she was persistent...

"It's not that, I swear," I said, adding on a reassuring smile. "I just don't want you to waste all of your supplies on me. I'm glad that you care so much for my wellbeing, but please, Alice, don't squander all of the provisions on such a lost cause." I finished with another chuckle, but my friend only joined me for a fraction of a second before her face fell serious again.

Before she could answer, one of the King's guards passed by our door and shouted in as he went, "Come quickly! You must come down, now!" We weren't sure what was going on, but judging from the tone of the man's voice, it wasn't something to be missed.

Swiftly, we followed him, and I was thankful to get away from the conversation with Alice. I'm sure she would drill me about it later, but for now I didn't know what to say.

We reached downstairs only to be met with a flourish of people, all watching with intent gazes that were fixed firmly on the great wooden door.

A man stood there in the doorway, quite battered and bruised by the elements, and his clothes damp, as if he had just returned from a rather unfortunate trip on the sea, or a river. Every man, woman, and child had their eyes fixed on him, their faces set with an aspect of pure awe.

"Gary!" I squealed, letting my emotions get the better of me as my eyes watered with joyful tears. I ran at full speed and threw myself at him, forcing the man to stagger backwards with my weight. I buried my face in his chest, trying to stop the tears, and he embraced me back tightly, the voice that I had missed so very dearly filled with laughter. "Where did you go? I thought we had lost you for good! What if I had never seen you again?"

With a soft smile, he pressed a hand on my head, just like he had done all that time ago when he had agreed to take me along with him, back in Twinleaf. I relished in his touch and realised just how much I had missed my friend. I never wanted anyone I loved to get hurt ever again.

"Where is he? Where is he? Get out of the way, I'm gonna kill him!" Gladad rushed up behind us and jumped in on the hug. "You are the luckiest, the canniest and the most reckless man I ever knew!" he pulled back, discreetly wiping away a forming tear from his eye, before it got caught in his beard. "Bless you, laddie!"

Eventually we let him go, so he could meet with a few more people and then go see the King, but I was glad that we were his first priority – even before the King himself. We directed him to where Palmer was, but I didn't want him to leave. I knew I had to let him go, but I was suddenly scared that if I let him out of my sight, even for just a moment, he might disappear in cloud of dust.

But he had to leave, so therefore I submitted.

Gary, with one last reassuringly lingering smile to me, and then to Alice, began to push his way through the crowd, but only to be met with Ash. They stopped in front of each other and grinned, though I was pretty sure they wanted to hug as well. The Elf was arriving on much more important business.

Ash looked at him with a small smile. "_Le abdollen_." 'You're late,' (to all those who don't speak Elvish). He took up Gary's flat palm and pressed the Evenstar into it. Then he skimmed his eyes over the man's wounds. "You look terrible." They laughed together and Gary clapped the hand that wasn't protectively encased around the Evenstar on Ash's shoulder.

"_Hannon le_." 'Thank you.' He shook his head slowly, as if reliving his journey off the cliff. "I never thought I would see this again. Or any of you again. You don't know how much this means to me."

Now that the formal exchange had been dealt with, they chuckled again and gave a quick embrace to one another, before Gary was let on his way once more.

I could almost feel my eyes wetting with tears again. There were literally no words to express how happy I was at his return!

Finally, all four of us were reunited again.

**~0~**

After Gary's sudden arrival, I spent most of my time avoiding almost everyone I knew, and followed my newly-returned friend pretty much everywhere he went. Of course, the King wasn't particularly overjoyed at my uninvited intrusions into their war meetings, but Gary was more than happy for the extra company.

I wanted to spend as much time as I possibly could with him, just in case he disappeared again.

As much as I enjoyed spending time with Gary, I did however feel guilty about leaving my other friends behind. Gladad, who at first seemed slightly upset at me blanking them all out, generally came to accept my decision, and knew that I would come around eventually. Ash, of course, was avoiding me anyway, and I was more than happy to continue to ignore him in return.

But it was Alice who I felt the guiltiest about avoiding, yet somehow also the most relieved. Ever since I had told her about mine and Ash's unfortunate and confusing series of events, it had seemed she had taken it upon herself to help me understand whatever it was that I was feeling. I was positively terrified at the possibility that I might like him, so it seemed that my friend was trying to cure me of whatever fears had taken hold of me. I was grateful for her concern, but it was really starting to get quite annoying.

I scanned the small crowd for Alice. Since it was midday, there were girls giving out bread and ale to the soldiers, trying to keep their strength up. Jubilife's soldiers were their last hope, and the civilians were doing their best to keep that hope alive. They couldn't afford any sickness or injuries.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw one of them offer Ash some ale and he smiled and took it graciously. Before I could stop myself, my eyes narrowed at them. How dare he be having a good time! He should be as miserable as I was!

"Hello, Dawn," came a cheery voice from beside me. It seemed that sometime during my glowering at the Elf, Alice had somehow popped up beside me. She was smiling, like she always was when I saw her, though that hadn't been for a while. It was a relief seeing her again, I had to admit. I didn't realize how much I'd missed her, even if I was purposely avoiding her.

"Hello," I replied, taking in her face for a fraction of a second before turning my attention back to Ash and the Jubilife girl. I wasn't sure of the exact reason for why I was so intrigued by their interaction, but I certainly didn't like it. I felt myself glaring again.

Alice frowned and jumped in my line of vision. She looked to where I was staring at and then back to me with a curious look in her eye. "What was that?"

I looked up, glad for the distraction, although I could still feel myself scowling. "What was what?" I answered her innocently (though there was some genuine confusion mixed in).

Alice rolled her eyes and huffed. "That!"

"What?"

"That! That look!" she persisted, with a full blown grin stretching from ear-to-ear. I really didn't like where this was going…

I pursed my lips, trying to maintain my expression of blissful ignorance. "What look?"

"That look, Dawn, the one you're doing _right now_, even as we speak." She turned around and together we watched Ash and the woman have a cheerful conversation. They began to walk along together, so Alice tugged on my arm and we followed a little way behind them.

The girl laughed at something he had said and an emotion well up inside me. Anger? Annoyance? I gritted my teeth and smiled to cover it up, looking away from the happy couple and to Alice instead. "I'm sorry?"

"You were glaring at him!" she told me matter-of-factly, but she couldn't back a laugh. "Just now, you were glaring at him!"

I blinked at her. I decided to continue to act dumb, even though it was totally pointless. Because, let's face it, she knew what was going on. "At who?"

She groaned and rolled her eyes again. I think she was starting to get annoyed at my constant denial. "Dawn, stop it. Stop acting like you don't know what I'm talking about. You were glaring at Ash!"

I didn't answer for a while, trying to think of something clever to say that would hopefully throw her off the trail. "I always glare at him." I finally decided on. "Haven't you noticed?"

They had slowed down now, so we did too. I felt like such a stalker, but I suppose there was nothing I could do about it now. Now they were just casually talking, but they were both sort of smiling. "That was more than just a glare, Dawn. You were looking at him like you hate him."

I tsked at her, scolding her for her forgetfulness. "I do, if you remember correctly," I reminded her, trying to sneak a look past her shoulders at what they were doing now. There was a horrid dread in my mind that I would suddenly look at them and catch them getting a bit too close.

God, I was so paranoid. They had only just met! I really needed to relax…

"No, but it was _more_ than just that! It was almost as you were jealous." There was a pause. Not just an awkward pause, but an awkward pause where she was staring at me directly in the eye with a stupidly happy, inquisitive smile. "Oh my, you're jealous!"

"No, I'm not!" I answered a little too quickly… all right, _far_ too quickly. So fast, in fact, that those dreaded words had barely escaped her lips before I denied all.

"Yes, you are! You're jealous because he's talking to that other girl!" Alice turned around to face the pair, but I jerked her shoulder back. She was so obvious!

I took a deep breath and composed myself. She was staring at me expectantly, and I suddenly got déjà vu from a few days ago, when I had felt compelled to tell her about mine and Ash's previous history. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not jealous."

"Dawn, I'm your friend." She held my shoulders firmly and it tore my attention away from Ash and his new 'friend'. "There's no trick you can do to pull wool over my eyes. You can't lie to me!"

Scowling again, I pulled away from her grip and crossed my arms. "No, but I can try..." I muttered under my breath, staring at the ground.

She grinned and laughed again, evidently hearing me and my mutterings. "Aha, so you admit it!" she giggled putting an arm round my shoulders and steering me forward again.

"I admit nothing!" I gasped, awestruck at both her persistence to get me to embarrass myself again, and her ability to guess everything that went on in my head. Was I really that obvious? "There is no way that I am jealous, okay? So he's talking to some other girl? Big deal! He's not mine, I don't own him."

Alice winked jokily. "No, but I bet you wish you did!"

"Alice!"

"Sorry."

Ash and the girl had begun to walk again and it now seemed like they were heading into the outer courts. Had we really been walking (well, following them…) for that long? We had crossed the whole inner courts, as well as leaving the Keep. They were laughing again, and I – once more – couldn't stop my face screwing up in annoyance.

Alice was watching as well, and she smirked when she saw. "You're glaring again," she told me, flouncing forward and leaving me to follow swiftly behind. Before I could even deny it again, she had carried on. "You like him. You're so jealous it hurts!"

I sighed, giving up with her. It was no use telling her she was wrong – she was determined to get me to admit it. "Whatever. I'm going to bed, I can't bear this anymore."

"What, me or Ash?" she asked, her eyes sparkling with joy. She really was enjoying this a lot more than I was. How is that even possible?

"Both of you." I scowled before storming off.

**Well… isn't somebody getting jealous? ;)**

**Haha, I really enjoyed writing this chapter, especially the bit at the end, it was pretty fun actually.**

**Sorry guys, but the uploads won't be as frequent as they have been for the past 2 weeks, as school starts again next week, but I will still try to get a chapter out every week or so, don't hold me on that though!**

**See you all on the next chapter, and thanks again for 30 reviews :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Here's my new chapter everyone, sorry it took so long! I'm back at school now and the first week was pretty busy. Now I have a few after school activities and those on top of homework means I barely have any time to write new chapters, so if the chapters don't come out as frequently, you'll know why!  
To make up for it, this chapter is longer, over 6,000 words.**

**If you haven't noticed yet, I'm trying to take Ash and Dawn's relationship relatively slowly, so they don't go from one chapter from hating each other to the next like 'Oh my god Ash, MARRY ME'… personally I hate stories like that.**

**There's something I want to explain in the note at the end, so check that out too!**

**Enjoy the chapter :D**

I had to stifle a yawn while I watched Gary and Palmer have yet another rather heated debate over their plans for war. Though it was only them who did most of the talking, with a few other comments from us, we all still felt compelled to attend each and every one of the meetings, so we could be fully updated on the situation.

The meetings were short, usually, but we had them regularly – once every day or so, just before noon – and it was now only Gary, Palmer, me, Ash, Gladad, and a few other more highly regarded soldiers (and occasionally Alice, if she could make her way in) who met in the King's Chambers to discuss our plans for the oncoming battle.

Or rather, Gary and King Palmer would discuss their plans for the oncoming battle, and we would stand and watch, without much input.

This one should be nearing to an end, hopefully.

I took a deep, tired breath and looked around the room. It was quite clear to see whose side everyone was one. For instance, while Palmer's soldiers stood close by to where he was standing on the left, Ash, Gladad, and I were inclining slightly more towards where Gary was, on the right.

Ugh, Ash. Just thinking about what happened with him and that girl really got on my nerves!

…Okay, so nothing actually happened between them, they were just talking. But still… I don't know why it bothers me so much! Maybe I am a bit jealous? But that would mean that Ash was right, and I would have to admit to her that I _was _actually jealous.

I didn't exactly want to be doing _that_ any time soon.

Argh, this was so frustrating! I hated being jealous, I hated Ash (though this was nothing out of the ordinary) because, as usual, he was confusing and irritating me, and I was annoyed at Alice because she was right about the whole thing. And I didn't particularly like that girl either.

Palmer and Gary had stopped talking (_arguing_, more like it) and the King was now having a discussion about the caves they were going to send the women and children to, while the men were out fighting, with one of his guards. Gary came and stood next to me, while waiting for the King to finish. He smiled down at me, but it was soon changed into a rather concerned frown.

"Are you okay?" he asked, causing me to blink out of my angry stupor. He must have noticed me glowering while I thought.

I nodded quickly. "Yes, I'm fine." I hesitated, the pause lasting barely a second. "Actually, I don't feel all too great. Do you mind if I leave? I promise to find you later so you can catch me up on anything I've missed."

"Of course, Dawn, that's perfectly all right. I hope you feel better soon." He grinned again, and this time it stayed. I gave him a small smile back, and turned to leave as quickly as I could.

I reached my bed chamber in a matter of minutes, eager to relax for a small time and just not think about anything, but before I had even had a chance to settle down, somebody rapped loudly against my door.

"Dawn!" I heard Alice shout to me from outside, before I had even had a chance to open it and let her in. I was torn between feeling cheerful at my friend's concern and reassurance, and dreading what she might be coming to talk to me about. "Open up, I know you're in there!"

I groaned and decided it was the latter. I loved Alice, and all, but I couldn't help but have an awful sense of apprehension growing in the pit of my stomach at my friend's arrival.

With a small sigh, I opened the door and allowed her to come in. She stepped through the opening, but didn't go to sit down on my bed like she usually did when she wanted to talk to me.

Alice frowned. "I saw you leave the meeting earlier, but couldn't catch you in time to ask why. Did something happen?"

"Err, not exactly. I just didn't feel all too great, that's all," I lied quickly, mirroring my earlier excuse, and hoping that if I feigned illness then she might be more concerned about my health than the reason why I left so early.

She pulled a face again, evidently not believing me. "Is this about Ash again?" she asked, crossing her arms in such a way that it told me she knew she was right before I had even answered.

But even though she was right, that didn't mean I was going to admit it. "What, no!" I cried, trying not to feel too annoyed that she kept bringing it up. "Not everything is about him you know."

Alice rolled her eyes. "Of course," she stated, "So, have you admitted to yourself that you're jealous yet, and that you really like him, no matter how much you two fight like a couple of children?"

Ouch, harsh.

My jaw dropped. "No! I've told you before; there is no way that I like that insufferable, arrogant man! He can do what he wishes, whether it be speaking with other women or whatever else, and it is not up to either of us to decide otherwise!" I put a lot of emphasis on the either of us part, since I was terrified that Alice might go and talk to Ash about it, if I proved to be such a hopeless case. If she did, there's no telling what she might say to him about me. It pains me to even think about it!

Badly trying to hide a smirk, Alice let a little giggle escape. "And if he decides to continue seeing her, then what will you do?" she noticed me grimace at the thought, and began to fully laugh now.

I growled at her. "Then I'm sure he'll have a lovely time. Now, please, if this is all you came to see me about, I'd rather not talk about it. I'm tired."

Alice looked a little hurt, and I felt bad, but I really didn't want to discuss it. I had come up here to escape from all that trouble, not to get even more involved within it.

After battling with her for a few more minutes, I finally got her to leave. But as soon as I had closed the door behind me, a wave of weariness swept over me and I staggered in a sudden dizzy spell. My bed was mere metres away from me, so, with a great effort, I heaved myself over and collapsed onto the flat pillow. Then, sitting up for a few minutes, I managed to pull my cloak over my head without it getting too caught in my hair, and then got to work on undoing the straps on my leather chest piece and gloves – there wasn't much threat here in Oreburgh City, but it still made me feel a lot safer, anyhow.

By the time I was sitting comfortably in pretty much just my undershirt, ready to rest for the night, there was another knock on my door.

I groaned inwardly and yelled while heaving my heavy bones to their feet, "Alice! I know that's you!" With a sigh, I stumbled back over to the door and yanked at the handle. "Don't even bother coming to talk to me; I'm still mad at you! Because, for the last time: I. AM. NOT–"

The door swung open and there stood Ash with a very bewildered look on his face and a slightly bemused smile stretched across his lips. "Jealous…" I finished, trailing off. Already, I could feel the inferno of heat building up in my cheeks.

And to make matters worse, I wasn't even fully dressed.

Oh, Arceus, why do I always have to embarrass myself at the most awkward of times? I mean, seriously, how am I ever supposed to survive in battle against an evil, dark overlord who wants to take over the world, if I can't even survive in my own room?

After the moment of tense silence had passed, Ash stared at me as if trying to make sense of this strange situation, and repeated slowly, "… Jealous?"

It took me a moment to register what he had said, and then even longer to try and make up an answer. Because what was I supposed to say? _Oh, that? Well, basically, Alice thinks that I'm jealous because you were getting chummy with a pretty Jubilife girl, and now that I really think about it, I probably am, but I can barely even admit that to myself, let alone you or her. So, how are you then?_

No. Just no.

"Oh, that?" I began, feeling so nervous that he might catch me out lying that I was starting to stutter a little. "Nothing. That was nothing. Just… something that me and Alice were talking about. You wouldn't know about it."

Why don't I ever stop talking? _Why, oh, why?_ Why can't I just be normal, and not look like a complete idiot for once?

Ash nodded slowly, and he raised one eyebrow up at me, as if to say, "What on Earth are you going on about, Dawn?"

"Right…" he replied, giving me a very strange look. "I knew I shouldn't have asked." He stared at me for another couple of seconds, before I noticed his cheeks flush a pale shade of pink, and he averted his eyes up to the ceiling.

I looked down and immediately saw what was making him so awkward. I was still just in my undershirt, which just reached half-way down my thighs. I was practically standing half-dressed in front of Ash.

Gee, no wonder he was so uncomfortable…

Almost automatically, I grabbed up the hem of my undershirt and yanked it down, crouching a little, so it went past my knees. It didn't stretch far, but at least now less of my legs were on show (though it was quite cute – dare I admit it – how he had gotten embarrassed like that. Oh, my, Alice really _had_ gotten to me! I can't believe I was just thinking that…)

_Please ignore the fact I'm only half-dressed_, I pleaded desperately in my mind. "So, did you need me, or something? Why are you here?" It came out with an irritated edge that I had not intended, but the truth was I was just anxious for him to leave so this whole embarrassing ordeal could be over.

"No, I don't need you. I'm on an errand for Gary, actually, if you can call it an errand that is. He would have given it to you himself, but he's still conversing with the King, and Gladad has already gone to bed." He proffered me a long item wrapped loosely in off-white coloured cloth. I nodded in thanks and took it from his hands, mulling silently over whether I not I should open it straight away, in front of Ash, or once he had gone.

Eventually, my impatience got the better of me and I just couldn't resist not knowing what it was for much longer. Eagerly, I took up on the cloth's edges and unwrapped it slowly, well aware that Ash was watching the gift (and me unwrapping it) as intently as I was.

I couldn't hold back a small squeal of joy as the cloth dropped to the floor, revealing what it was. "My bow!" I gasped, holding it out in front of me to study my long lost battle companion.

I forgot, Gary said he would give it to Gladad to be fixed ages ago! I can't believe I had forgotten about it for all this time! Gary had given me his bow to use in the meantime, but I was sure I gave it back to him soon after we had reached Jubilife. Actually, I know I gave it back to him because when we had been attacked on the journey to Oreburgh, I had mainly used my knife in that fight.

But it would certainly feel good to use my own bow again!

Turning it a few times in front of my face, I noticed that where the cracks were previously, it was now patched up with thin, flexible pieces of metal that held it all together. It was a little crude in places, but it was amazingly done, especially considering how little resources we had. I pulled back the string and pretended to take aim at an imaginary target. I think it was even stronger than before, in fact!

Gladad must have fixed sometime back when we were in Jubilife, and given it back to Gary soon after, but we had all been so busy with Palmer that Gary must have forgotten about it until now.

"Thank you for bringing this to me!" I grinned at Ash, resisting the urge to hug him, I was so happy.

Ash sent me a thin smile, like my happiness was contagious and he was trying not to get too caught up in it. "No problem. Though it is Gladad who you must thank for the repairs."

"I will. And I'll be sure to see Gary as well."

Ash nodded then left me to myself. I closed the door again, quieter than I had done before, then winced as I recalled back what had just happened. Besides regaining my bow again, that had been one of the most awkward conversations in my life!

It took me a couple of minutes to calm my furiously heated cheeks down, but once I was back to my usual complexion and had momentarily pushed that last couple of horrible minutes with Ash out of my mind, I leant my bow against one of the walls and the clambered slowly under the thin blankets of my bed.

I was going to need a really good night's rest after what had just happened. I just thank the Gods that it was over now.

**~0~**

"This way please. Woman and children into the caves!" Alice's kind, calm voice echoed throughout the tunnels. She directed a lost looking elder in the right direction, and then scooped up a crying child into her arms.

We – that is, a few of the soldiers, and Alice and I – had been recruited to start moving all the villagers that weren't fighting into the safety of the caves under Oreburgh City, where coal and other minerals were mined. Alice was a natural with children, of course, and had volunteered to help out of her own kindness. I, despite having no people skills whatsoever, still wanted to help… though I can't say many of the villagers were listening to me.

The battle was advancing quickly; the King and Gary had predicted it to be only a few days away, but I was still as tense as ever. Before meeting Gary and the others, the most life-threatening thing I had ever done in my life was accidentally talking back to King Úllothona (which if I ever survive, I promise to go back to Twinleaf and apologize properly) but this… it wouldn't just be me, but all my friends, all those other men… our lives would actually be in danger… could it be that I was actually afraid?

I made a silent promise never to mention my fears to anyone. I'm sure Gary was doing fine, since he was practically made of stone when it came to fighting. I don't think that man was afraid of anything! At least not anything that I knew of...

"Dawn, will you take him for a moment?" Alice asked me, passing the small sniffing boy into my arms before I even had a chance to answer. He was only about three or four, or so, and as soon as I was holding him securely, he looked up at me with big doe-like eyes and gave a braid in my hair a good tug.

"Ow!" I hissed, accidentally cussing in Elvish. Alice didn't understand what I had said, but judged correctly from the tone of my voice and gave me a stern look.

"Not in front of the children!" she scolded me in an incredibly berating tone of voice. "I'm going to go look for his mother. Keep an eye on him, Dawn. Make sure he doesn't get into any trouble." Then, with a teasing glint in her eye, she turned to the child and whispered, "And you look after her as well!"

"That's not funny!" But the boy laughed and giggled as Alice ruffled his hair before leaving.

It was only a few moments for Alice to return with the frantic, auburn haired mother, but it the short time that it took for them to arrive, the little brat had already wrenched out half my hair, screamed like a crab in water, and not to mention almost strangled me.

But of course when Alice came back he was good as gold again.

"Oh, my boy!" the woman cried, thankfully taking the child from me. "Thank you for finding him!" she kissed the child's forehead and sent Alice a grateful look. "Thank you so much!"

"It was no trouble. We are only here to help!"

I nodded along with Alice but couldn't help but glare at the demon child as him and his mother parted. Alice didn't notice my death stare, though, and sighed.

"I'm glad that mother found her son again. And I really hope her husband comes back after the battle." She looked up at me and smiled, though it was weak, a ghost of its usual cheery expression. "She was talking to me about him on the way here. She sounded so upset!"

Trying to be reassuring to my friend, I placed my hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure he'll be fine. Both Gary and Palmer are good leaders. Things will be okay, for everyone. I promise you." I smiled, and again Alice tried to return the gesture but her face had fallen far too sombre to smile back properly.

"Dawn… I've been thinking…" she turned to me with a deadly serious look in her pretty grey eyes, "I want to go to battle with you. I want to fight! What with the death of my cousin, and now Barry gone–" at the mention of her lost family, the grey eyes staring down at me darkened considerably, "–I don't think I could stand it if my father didn't return as well! I want to help you. I want to fight side-by-side with you, and King Palmer, and… and Gary!" not only did she go a little quiet as she spoke the last name, but I noticed a pale shade of pink creeping across her cheeks – I didn't point this out to her though. "Please, will you talk to Gary for me?"

I didn't know what to say. She had taken me by surprise with this sudden outburst, and I wasn't quite sure how to respond to it. Alice had a fair case to back her up, that much was true… but how was I ever to convince Gary to let her fight? In fact, it wasn't even Gary I needed to convince – it was King Palmer.

And he was sure to be even worse about sending his own niece into the fray!

"I – I –" I began to stutter out inaudible words, changing my mind on what to reply with every few seconds. How could I say no? I knew that if I was in her position, I would ask the same thing… I would feel so bad to deny her, but what else could I say?

For the few moments it had taken me to get lost in my thoughts, Alice's face fell dejectedly – I had been silent for too long.

"Oh, please, Dawn! You know I would do the same for you! It's much to ask, all you need to do is mention it to him! I can't do it myself…" she hesitated slightly and gave a small, sad sigh, "I know both my father and Gary would say no straight away. But if you go talk to Gary, then it might soften him a bit: I know you two are close."

There was a strong moment of silence that seemed to cut right through the both of us. "I – I'm sorry, Alice, but I don't think there's much I can do to help you. I can try talking to Gary if you like, but I don't see that my influence will help you very much." This was the best I could come up with when put on the spot – I still offered to talk to Gary, but there was no way I could get close to Palmer by myself, let alone long enough for him to listen to me!

Alice's pretty face tightened and her brow knitted into a frown. "But surely he would agree with you? And besides, you get to fight! That hardly seems fair. Why should you get to go out and help, when I am stuck inside these caves with the rest of the woman?!" Now her face was red and contorted with anger, and her eyes were ablaze.

I didn't dare object to her outburst at the risk of offending her even more. She met my eyes and as soon as she saw in them just how much her demand had affected me, her expression softened.

"I'm sorry, Dawn." She looked away, ashamed of herself. "I didn't mean to put you in such a difficult position. But please, I hate to ask again, but will you try and talk to him? It really would mean a lot."

"Of course I will, I'll do what I can – but I can't promise anything."

With an appreciative smile, Alice hugged me tightly and whispered, "Thank you! If you do this, I promise I'll stop nagging you about…" she stopped and looked up at me, beaming, "_Him_." She didn't realize how much it helped for to not say his name.

"Um, about… _Him_," I started, trying to ignore the fact I was turning into what strongly resembled a tomato. It was taking a great amount of effort to try and stop any of the emotion that was suddenly flooding into me to appear visible on my face, but even so I don't think I was doing such a great job.

Alice raised an eyebrow curiously, but the smirk on her face was all-knowing. "Yes?" I think she could guess what I was going to say before the words had even formed in my mind.

"I've thought about this for a long time and…" I hesitated awkwardly as Alice stared down at me expectantly, and my face flushed with another wave of fiery heat. "There may be a slight chance that… I like him."

I felt as if I was betraying all I had believed in, ever since I had left Twinleaf. It was like a serious kick to the chest, and I didn't even want his name to cross my mind. All that effort into proving I was something of worth to that arrogant, loathsome Elf and not just some simple little cockroach that could be squashed easily with one small blow was all wasted. Because now I was actually admitting that I had feelings for him? I must have been down here in the caves too long, because surely I was going mad.

I may have planned to lie at first to Alice, just so she would stop teasing me about him so much, but now I had actually said it… I kind of felt like I meant it.

But you know what? Admitting that I felt something for him – for Ash, of all people – actually felt kind of… good.

Alice flicked her blonde hair over her shoulder triumphantly and gave me a grin that stretched from ear-to-ear. She hugged me again, chuckling with victory and her face glowing with happiness.

"Oh, I just knew it!" she gushed, practically jumping up and down with joy. "I'm so proud of you, Dawn! You finally admitted it." Thankfully my friend's happiness for me drowned out the rest of her worries about not being able to fight alongside the rest of us. I still felt bad – Alice was right, why did I get to fight when she could not? It just didn't seem fair… but I suppose the King of Jubilife was not my father, and Gary had known me long enough for me to gain his trust… but still.

"Only a small amount!" I insisted frantically, and up two fingers and pinched them together, trying to emphasize how little my feelings were. "I don't like him _that _much… just a little, just a tiny–"

She crammed her hand over my mouth, laughing like mad now. "Okay, that will do, Dawn. That will do. I get it, don't worry! _Not that much_," she repeated teasingly with a cheeky wink.

There was another pause. I tried not to look at Alice's bright and cheerful expression, so instead averted my gaze to stare solidly at the floor for a few minutes, while anxiously knotting together my fingers.

"You won't tell anyone, will you?"

"Of course not." She swept my hands and gave them a quick squeeze. I immediately felt comforted at the support my friend was giving me; for some reason I had been adamant that she would laugh at me for finally saying I liked him, or just mocking me even further, or some other horrible scenario that might take place. But no, none of that happened, thank Arceus.

"Thanks."

"It's fine." We stopped chatting for a few minutes to channel some of the last of the women and children through the passages, before Alice finally spoke up again and said, "You know, I'm proud of you for admitting that. I don't understand why you seem so ashamed of it, or why you haven't told me before!"

I sent her a sly smile. "Oh, like you haven't told me about you and Gary before?" I tried to keep my voice low, but still loud enough for her to only just hear me.

Alice raised her eyebrows, looking a little alarmed and going red at what she thought I had said. "What? I don't–! I mean, I'm not–!" she struggled with her words, getting more and more flustered with every mistake.

Grinning, I gave her arm a little pat. It felt good knowing the tables had turned; for once it wasn't her drilling me for information about men! "Right, okay. Whatever you say!"

**~0~**

This was it. All the civilians that were not going to fight had been successfully moved to the caves. Those who had not weapons and armour of their own (since most of the citizens of Jublife were only ordinary villagers, this proved to be quite an issue) had been provided with the tools they needed, and those who were exceptionally inexperienced were given a quick course on how to handle a blade.

It was quite sad to watch really. Most of them were barely strong enough to hold a sword, let alone fight for hours with one, in full armour: Even I hadn't the stamina to go out in full metal plate.

I slapped on the new gauntlets that I had been given to wear into battle and yanked up the straps around my wrists. It was hard to fasten the one on my left arm, with the one on my right arm hanging loose, and the buckles had rusted slightly and were stiff and fiddly to work with. It was annoying, and after a few failed attempts, I ended up just throwing them on the floor in distaste and scowling at them for a few seconds, as if I expected them to suddenly jump up and apologise for being such a nuisance.

"You are as useless as ever." I recognised the tone of voice before it had even passed the man's lips. Ash passed me a fleeting smirk before the seriousness of the situation set in around us. He walked forward from his standing position against the door and bent down to pick up my wristbands from the stone floor. "Let's hope that your uselessness doesn't stay with you in battle, or I shall have to follow you around like a lost sheep, making sure you don't get slaughtered out there."

He motioned for me to hold out my arm so he could fasten on my armour. The tips of his gloved fingers brushed against my arm and I held my breath tightly. My gut tightened with emotion, the nerves of war and a short burst of uncertainty and longing mingled together to form a rather mismatched mix of strange feelings. They didn't suit each other well, and now, thanks to Ash, I was feeling even worse.

The memory of what I first thought of him still rang clear and true in the back of my mind, though I tried not to think about it often; he may not be particularly nice to me, but that unfortunately didn't change the fact that he was strangely handsome and beautiful to look at, in ways in which I couldn't quite just place my finger upon.

I gulped loudly, and allowed my face to fall into a small, stern scowl. "We're about to enter a battle field, if you haven't realised already. Don't you have anything nice to say before we all go get ourselves killed?"

Ash faltered slightly before answering, thinking through his words carefully. It was like he was having second thoughts about what to say. "Keep to the walls. Stay with the others," he finally told me, jerking the last strap into place a little too tightly and getting to work on the next one. I didn't really care if it was tight or not, to be honest, I was just happy that I had at least one gauntlet in place. "Don't go mindlessly wandering into a horde of Orks. And for God's sake, don't do anything reckless." That seemed to be another of his favourite words that he liked to use to describe me, and it came out accompanied with a low, rough growl.

I nodded along in agreement, trying to picture all the sorts of stupid things I might end up doing and how I would somehow manage to prevent them. "Right. _Nothing that you wouldn't do_. Got it."

Ash's eyes narrowed and he gripped my hand, the worn leather of his gloves hard against my palms (despite the thin material of my own pair of gloves). "I'm serious, Dawn. This is no laughing matter." His look was sincere, and I immediately felt guilty about my previous comment. He actually cared whether I lived or died… I really liked that. He bit his lip, and opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to find something else of worth to say, then changing his mind again at the last minute. Eventually he decided upon, "Just... don't get yourself killed, all right?"

I tried my best to smile and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "Trust me; I'll be trying my best to stick to that last piece of advice."

He didn't laugh at my half-hearted joke. The silence dragged on and a feeling of cold spread rapidly throughout the room. He opened his mouth again, just slightly, but I still noticed the small gesture, and it made me curious as to what he wanted to say.

The degree of how unsure he was feeling visible on his face and unnerving to me, but after a prolonged and awkward silence, he finally spoke. "Listen, Dawn… I – Don't take this the wrong way but…" he stopped for a moment and took a breath. "Don't fight."

"I'm sorry?" My heart fell with a heavy thump; for a moment I thought he was going to say something else…

Ash frowned and made a frustrated sound, like I didn't understand something blatantly obvious. "What I'm trying to say is... you shouldn't go out there. It's too dangerous. You shouldn't fight. I – I don't want you to."

I shook my head, wondering whether I was actually hearing this. "Wh–what? That's crazy! Of course I'm going to fight!"

"Please, Dawn, see reason! You'll be killed!" he was pleading now, but the sound of his voice like this brought back so many conflicting emotions, the ones I had always hated, and I bit my lip so hard I was beginning to faintly taste copper. I was happy that he was so concerned for me but annoyed that he didn't believe I was good enough. He had just given me advice on how to stay alive, and now he was just suddenly changing his mind and telling me not to go out at all?

I tried to keep my voice low, in an attempt to not only calm him down, but also myself, but it was incredibly hard. "I won't be killed. There are innocent people that need protecting, and the more soldiers we can get, the better. People are relying on me – on all of us! – and I'm not going to let them down."

A muscle twitched in his jaw, and I could tell he was getting more and more frustrated with me. "Dawn, please, I pray you see sense! Unlike those poor men, you have a choice not to fight! Stay with Alice and help the people in the caves – at least there you will be safe."

"I can fight!" I almost yelled, straightening my tone at the last minute. "I'm just as good a fighter as you are!"

"This isn't about that!" he stressed, squeezing my hands in his anger so much that it hurt. I winced from the pain and he loosened his grip, still entangling his fingers in mine. "I know you can fight, and I know that you're good at it – but this is serious! You can't go out there, not because you can't look after yourself, but because there's no telling what might happen out there. No matter how skilled you are, the chance of death is still too high."

"But I want to do this! I _need_ to do this!" I took a deep breath, concentrating on the familiar comfortable feeling his touch causing me. "I admit, I'm scared, terrified even! But some measly feeling of fear isn't going to stop me! And neither can you."

"But you can't–!" he started, but I interrupted him before he could carry on with any more protests.

"Why do you care anyway?" I shouted over him, tearing my hands away and taking a step backwards in fury. I immediately missed his touch but – unlike being scared – that was something that I was never going to admit out loud.

"Because I–!" he began shouting back but forced himself to stop, his unspoken words lay echoing between us. "I – I'm scared as well. Not for me, but for _you_. Look, please, Dawn. I'm begging you, please don't do this."

My throat tightened and my cheeks suddenly felt wet with tears. His forehead pressed against mine and he slipped his fingers into my palms again.

"I'm sorry," I said, groaning at his persistence.

His nose softly rubbed against the tip of mine, tempting me to draw in and kiss him. In fact for one magical moment I thought he was going to kiss _me_.

"I'm sorry," I whispered again, salty tears stinging my cheeks. I lifted myself up on my tiptoes and pecked his brow. It wasn't much, but I had to do something to show that I cared as much as he apparently did – I might never see him again after this. "But I have to. I'm going to fight."

For a moment, Ash didn't speak, but he heaved a deep, sad, relenting sigh. "Wait, Dawn... before you go... I realise I can't stop you, but... I just want to say I'm really sorry for the way I've treated you, for anything wrong that I've said. And I... if we both survive this then I promise not to treat that way again."

I choked back a sob. Our lips barely had time to brush before the shouts to get to our battle positions got louder and by far more urgent.

"I need to go," I whispered. I slipped my hands away from his, my gaze wavering until I finally had to force myself free from it – I didn't want to leave, but I had no choice. Regret coursed through my veins with fiery vengeance, making me wish desperately that I also hadn't acted the way I had towards him these past months either. I wish I had realised earlier how I felt towards him, instead of mere days ago, but now... now it was too late.

Our time together had run out.

**Hey again!**

**I'd like to explain something about the story, I've gotten this question 1 or 2 times in PMs. People have been asking why Ash hates half-elves so much.  
The thing is, Ash doesn't hate all half-elves, he only hates Dawn.  
A tiny part of his hatred comes from Dawn being a half-elf, but I'd say more of his hatred comes from her lying to them and Ash not being able to figure her out sooner :D  
Also, I needed a reason for Ash to hate Dawn… a spark to set of the flame you could say :P**

**But stay tuned for the next chapter, where part of it will be in the much requested Ash's POV again (woohoo), and the Battle for Oreburgh City will begin…**

**Please comment and review, I really appreciate it, thanks!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry for the late chapter everyone!**

**Like I said on my new story, I've been really busy with exams and other exciting stuff, speaking of which, please go check it out :D It's called 'Stealing Hearts' and I'm not sure whether or not to continue with it yet, thought the feedback on it has been pretty cool, so thanks for that. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention it on my new story, but if you want to see chapters come out faster on that, or have a good idea, please leave the suggestion in a review or PM, it'll be much appreciated :) I have no clue where I want to take that story yet to be honest.**

**To make up for my lack of updating, here's an extra-long chapter… around 7,500 words I think. Sorry if there's not much pearlshipping in here, I really needed a chapter to continue on the story, but the next one's going to have plenty – trust me :P**

**I've actually nearly finished the next chapter, and I'll publish that depending on the feedback I get on this chapter. You never know, if you guys are super awesome and give me loads of feedback, it could even be out by tomorrow!**

**But for the next few weeks or so, I'm going to be updating less frequently, sorry! Exams are coming up, plus I'm taking my Astronomy GCSE in less than two weeks, so I really need to concentrate on revision right now. I hope you all can understand, but I will update more regularly after I'm done with the exam.**

**Oh yeah, and you've probably heard this like a billion times today but...**

**May the Fourth be with you :D**

**Anyways, please enjoy!**

I pulled on the last of my armour and breathed in deeply before swiping up my quiver and slotting it into its place on my back. I wasn't sure how this night was going to end, but I was trying to keep the flame of hope burn as strong and bright as possible, before it flickered to nothingness.

Faces rushed through my mind, all my friends who I would be helping to protect, but one person stood out in particular – it was the beautiful, golden, formless character of my mother and the incomplete vision struck me with a compelling urge to run my hands over the pages of her story book just one last time. I muttered a quick prayer to Arceus – I needed all the help I could get right now, if I wanted to make it to the end of this.

Two soldiers rushed past the steps, their swords clanging loudly against chain mail. They couldn't have been more than twenty years at least, possibly even younger, and neither of them noticed me as they passed.

I slipped from my position on the steps and decided to follow them to the battlements, trying to merge in with the other soldiers; I didn't want to get lost, or end up in the wrong section – my carelessness may be only a slight hindrance in everyday life, but out here on the battlefield it could get me killed. My mind was flooding, overworking itself to exhaustion – there were just so many things I was trying to remember, and so many I wanted to forget! I had to swallow all of my fear, pretend that it didn't exist, just eliminate it from my mind completely; but I also had to remember to stay calm throughout the battle, keep together, and stay focused – the last thing I could afford to do was panic.

A chill ran throughout my bones and a spreading numbness was creeping its way into my fingers: I couldn't tell if it was a shadow of terror that kept snagging in the depths of my heart, or just the sharp winds that were blowing across the battlements, causing my hair to slap my cheeks and flush them pink.

My eyes closed and I gulped down another large breath of air. I shivered and clutched my bow closer towards my chest, the familiar feel of hard wood and a smell of home instantly soothing my fractured nerves.

A hand caught my shoulder and I immediately jumped and swung around, feeling around my side for the hilt of my knife.

"Shh, Dawn. Ease yourself, it is only me." Gary had appeared behind me, smiling grimly through the smoke and black.

"Gary!" I gasped, clutching my chest, and took a moment to settle the remains of my poor anxious heart. "Announce yourself next time!" I slapped his shoulder and glared through the smoky dark. "There was no need to sneak up on me like that, I am nervous enough already."

A ghost of a smile formed on Gary's thin lips, but I was not amused. "Forgive me, Dawn. I did not mean to startle you." He placed a thickly gloved hand over my shoulder and inhaled a short, sharp breath. "I just wanted to wish you luck. We may not have known each other for a particularly long time, but it feels as if I have known you for longer. And without you, who knows whether we would have managed to escape out of Tadasea Wood."

I sniffed and, despite the foreboding, heavy atmosphere that drowned us, a smile managed to explode onto my face. "Gary," I muttered, losing my train of thought completely. Before I could stop myself, I jumped on him to wrap my arms around his chest, and (whether he had been expecting the sudden embrace or not) hugged me tightly back. "Thank you, Gary. You are my dear brother and I plead to Arceus that we will both survive this."

"And I too pray that we will live." We broke apart and he rested his hand on my head, stroking my hair softly. "Keep safe, Dawn. I will meet again with you and the others after the battle."

"If–" I began, but he silenced me with a swift movement of his hand.

"There are no _if_s." His voice was stern and fatherly, but I could detect a hint of a smile in his voice. "I promise we will all see each other soon."

I envied his optimism. "Of course."

And just like that I was alone again, left to wallow in my fear. I hated that I was scared, almost shameful of myself… but what else was there to be? I would have been much more of a fool if I was not afraid.

I pressed my teeth into the soft flesh of my bottom lip and looked around. Where was Ash? And Gladad? Where the rest of my friends had disappeared to was beyond me – I knew that Alice was (hopefully) still in the caves, but I hadn't seen her for half the day at least, and Gary had just left me to go command the other side of the battlements. But I knew nothing concerning the whereabouts of Ash and Gladad, not since Ash's warning in the armoury. Wherever they were, I wanted them to be together. And, as Gary had insisted upon earlier, whatever happened tonight, we would all meet again afterwards.

I just prayed that he was right.

A thundering of heavy feet that was once just a sickening echo in the distance was now growing dangerously close. As one single unit, every man and Elf looked out into the darkness to see it illuminated by thousands of torches carried by the advancing army.

The pace of my heart quickened considerably and my breath became short. Strangely I was anticipating the two armies to clash with some sort of excitement, but whether or not I wanted to be caught between them was another story entirely. And there was no way I could start having second thoughts about this – I was no coward.

Thunder sounded and lighting crashed upon the horizon, revealing the sea of approaching Orks. I gulped and inhaled a ragged breath. Adrenaline was coursing through my veins and every fibre of my body was tensed and quivering with alacrity and brisk anxiety. Another flash of lighting caused the heavens to tear open, and over the pounding of rain I could hear Gary's voice calling for the archers to nock their arrows. I at once obeyed.

The Ork leader, stepping onto an outcropping rock below us, raised his sword and gave an animalistic battle cry. At once, his army began to growl and stamp and thump their spears furiously, and the horrible noise reverberated across the walls. I clenched my fingers tighter around the string of my bow and adjusted my aim ever so slightly. My heart was beating so fast now that I could feel it pulsating through my leather chest piece, and I was trying to stop my hands from trembling too much – I was scared yes, but the trembling was more due to the cold raindrops splashing across my face and the strain of keeping still for so long. Anticipation had mostly replaced my fear anyway, an occurrence which, although I did not understand fully, I was perfectly glad to accept and be partly rid of my distress.

After what seemed like an age of the two armies trying to intimidate each other (to no particular result) the Ork leader thrust his weapon into the air and his army began to charge.

"_Tangado halad!_" "Prepare to fire!"

As soon as the command had passed Gary's lips, the Orks began to charge. My breath caught in my throat, and the pounding rhythm my heart was hammering quickened considerably. I shivered again, the exciting prospect of battle looming over my head in a dark, but strangely inviting shadow.

Please, dear Arceus, help us live through this.

The muscles in my arm tensed and trembled and I bent my bow, readjusting my aim. "Release the arrows!"

All at once, arrows rained down upon the fast-approaching beasts, felling most of the first and second rows. The command was yelled again, this time taking out the a few more – but there were too many of them, and far too little of us, to stop them from advancing and it seemed like for every Ork we felled, two more took its place.

Reaching for another arrow over and over again, in the same swift, constant movement was beginning to ache my hand, and there was always the everlasting nag in the back of my mind that I would run out. Thankfully, for now though, my quiver showed no signs of running dry. Not yet, at least.

The air was thick with smoke and the overwhelming scent of blood and sweat, ever increasing with every good man and Elf that fell at the blades of the enemy. Right now, I was alone in the fight, but I could hopefully trust my friends to stay alive. Not only were they far more experience than me, but it made me feel sick to even begin to imagine them dead – in fact it was probably more likely that Gary, Ash and Gladad were worrying over _my_ safety, than me fretting over them. It would certainly make more sense.

An archer who had been fighting beside me was suddenly stuck in the throat with short, rusted arrow and he sank to his knees, coughing up blood. I winced and clenched my teeth tightly, trying not to inhale – the stench of fresh blood was so strong it made me feel faint, and I didn't want to be next to topple over the wall into the pit of death below. Along with his screams, there was a sudden crash right in front of me, only adding further to already deafening roar of clashing metal and fearsome roars. They were trying to mount ladders against the fortress!

I drew my knife in preparation for combat – there was no way I was going to waste my arrows in close combat – and the men around also sensed the same strained atmosphere of impending doom, as they too withdrew their swords and knives and stared with wide eyes at the ominous ladders.

Though I was fully expecting the arrival of the Ork onto the battlements, I still jumped when the first one reared its ugly head. Luckily, before I could get to it, another soldier had stabbed him in the shoulder and sent him flailing backwards, but that didn't stop more from clambering over the stone and howling bloody cries into the sky.

There was no way we could push back the ladders – they had been fixed into the wall of the battlements with thick metal spikes and hinges, and the most we could do was kill and hack at any that tried to get to close.

With a cry, I ran forward towards the throng of enemies filing onto the battlements and span my knife around my head, trying to pierce through their armour. I wasn't as good as Ash at picking out the weak points in my enemies, and I certainly didn't have Gary's strategic mind, or Gladad's strength; but I could at least tell that their armour was fairly weak at the neck, and possible beneath the arms and behind the knees.

Suddenly an Ork's sword came crashing down in front of me, slicing down my arm. I cried out in agony, almost dropping my knife as searing hot pain coursed through my veins, and I forced myself to suck in shallow breaths. Clutching the hilt of my weapon just in time to stop it from slipping from my grip, I slammed it into the Ork's armoured chest, throwing him backwards and over the wall.

Around me, more good men and Elves were falling, and the dark night stretched ever onwards. This war was looking more and more hopeless with every slow and agonizing second that passed, and I was beginning to wonder if any of us would ever survive until the end.

I pressed a grimy, stained hand over where the thick blade had sliced through leather and flesh, and was unsurprised as my own crimson blood starting seeping through between my battle-worn gloves.

Oh, how did I know something like this was going to happen? Ash was right, I didn't belong in battle – If I didn't get hacked to death by a great ugly brute, I was going to die of blood poisoning for sure, from the bloody filth and rust encrusted on that Ork's blade.

"_Nuuta!_" with a short yelp my foot caught on the helmet of a beheaded Ork and I stumbled and fell backwards. I couldn't even stand up right! Frantic feet stamped dangerously close to my face, some crushing my fingers, other catching and tugging at my hair. I writhed on the floor, trying not to get stepped on, but it didn't seem to be working – in any case it seemed to be making it worse, and only attracted the attention of an Ork that had managed to make it this far over the wall and not be killed.

He was advancing swiftly on me, and I groped desperately about for where my knife had slipped suddenly from my hand – I could see it, just a hair's breadth from my hand, but it was hard to grasp with so many soldiers rushing about beside me.

"_Twenty_!" With a barbarous cry, an axe swung down into the Ork's head, and he collapsed to the floor, black, soulless eyes rolling back into his head. Behind where the now-dead Ork had been standing, Gladad had appeared, his teeth bared. I swiped up my knife and, extending me a thick gloved hand, he helped me to my feet.

"Thank you," I gasped quickly, and he nodded shortly.

"My pleasure, Miss Dawn!" the Dwarf chuckled darkly, "But if the Elf asks, tell him that was twenty two!" With a final wink, Gladad raised his axe again and ran yelling into rabble of Ork, more ugly heads rolling with devastating swing. With each attack, he shouted out another number, his total swiftly clambering upwards.

Pulling back, I copied the other Elves and rearmed myself with my bow and arrows. The Orks at the sides of the formation were being hit, and falling into the pit below, but they would only be replaced from somewhere within the within the mass with another Ork doomed to die in the exact same manner.

A few were carrying strange spiky objects and placing them carefully at the foot of the Deeping Wall. I didn't have a clue as to what they were, but no way did I trust anything Ork-made. Gary seemed to be on a similar wave-length as me, since as soon as he noticed the large threatening being set up by the sluice gates, he immediately signalled towards them.

"_Togo hon dad,_ Ash!" Gary yelled the order with such alarm, that for a moment I wanted to panic. But the sound of his name sent sparks of electricity fluttering across my body, even in the heat of battle. Ash was still alive! That was good, that was amazing! Knowing he had survived gave me the will to push forward.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Ash jump to attention, more alert than ever now, at Gary's desperate order. Within a millisecond the Elf had leaped to a higher point on the wall and whipped out an arrow, his hands a leather-clad blur as he fitted it into the string and fired at a suspicious Ork holding a lit torch.

I think I was beginning to get an idea as to what those spiky metal balls were…

The Ork stumbled as the arrow pierced him in the shoulder, but he doggedly carried on running towards the gate, where the (what I had now guessed to be) bombs were placed. Ash fired again as Gary's shouts got more and more frantic. "_Dago hon! Dago hon!_Kill him!"

Somehow, despite being embedded by a considerable amount of arrows by this point, the Ork pressed on towards the gate, throwing himself and the flame in one last attempt to rid us all.

There was a blinding flash as the open fire collided with the bombs, which were followed by searing heat, and an immense blast that shattered through the Deeping Wall as if it were made of little but paper. My ears popped and the power of the blast pinned me to the ground, throwing up sharp fragments of rocks and dust that worked its way into the deepest crevices of my eyes and wounds. My vision blurred and my already throbbing arm was sent reeling into a fresh wave of stinging pain.

Vaguely I was aware of a familiar cry – I think Gary was thrown back from the explosion as well, but he had been propelled further still than the wall and Gladad had jumped down after him, fighting off any Orks that tried to spring on him before he could recover from the blow.

My ears felt as if someone had stuffed them with cloth, and my neck and hair were growing damp and sticky with crimson. Groaning, I used the wall to haul myself back to my feet and peered over the edge to confirm my suspicions.

Through hazy vision, Gladad looked like a tiny smudge that was getting swamped by a sea of black and grey. My mind was trying to capture what was happening and make some sense of it, but all the images seemed to blend into one another, merging dim colours and muffled sounds alike. But even through my disconcerted state I could tell that Gladad was in need of help.

So, drawing on the last of my strength, I flung my bow over my shoulder and leaped down to join Gladad in the barraging bloodshed below.

I landed with a hard, painful thump after throwing myself from the wall and falling to the ground below, but the thudded noise and my short yelp had been drowned out immediately by the raging battle – I didn't even realise the sound had escaped from my lips until they closed again.

"Gladad!" I had to shout the Dwarf's name several times before he realised I had followed him down, and even then it took a few moments for him to pick me out from the crowd. It certainly was a lot louder down here, and the air was heavier and far more stagnant, harder to breath. There was a lot more smoke and dust and my ears were still throbbing slightly from the explosion, but the sudden burst of noise that had barraged me when I landed seemed to help work my hearing back to normal.

Gladad was like a battering ram, taking dozens out as he stood. Slowly he was forcing them to inch backwards, but they were closing in on him fast. Shaking myself to my senses, I tightened my grip on my knife and ran to join him in the slashing and dicing he seemed to be making such quick work on.

Arrows pelted down from both sides of us, and a few of them struck my back and arms – I didn't know what side they came from, but I didn't blame any of our archers if they hit me by accident; mixed in with all the Orks, and covered in so much soot, grime, and blood, it must have been hard to tell who was who down here. I yanked out as many as I could before any more rained down on us.

"Gladad?" I looked around for my friend, but he had been swamped by the enemy, nowhere to be seen. I hoped he was okay – knowing Gladad, it would take more than a few Orks to keep him down. Hopefully, he went to find Gary and to make sure he was okay as well.

Suddenly, there was a roar right in front of my face. An Ork bore his teeth at me in an ugly yellow grin, and he grabbed my arm where I had been cut. Flames of pain, in every colour imaginable, licked and charred the broken flesh when he caught me, the rainbow of heat sinking into my blood and coursing through every one of my veins. It spread throughout my body like the tsunami of Orks that had crashed upon our fortress, like water on rock, as Palmer had predicted. Unfortunately, though, it seems that the wave was stronger than the King had first imagined…

I screamed as he squeezed and twisted, but still managed to whip up my sword and slice it down his chest in one clumsy stroke, thankfully causing him to release me, but the Ork didn't die or back down.

There was a rush of air and something skimmed past my ear. An arrow burrowed itself into the Ork's throat and he coughed up some dark looking blood and bile before collapsing to the ground.

The arrow had familiar yellow feathers, ones that I definitely seen before and I whipped around just in time to see Ash swipe up a shield and send it sliding down some steps, but not before hopping neatly onto it and firing more arrows as he surfed it smoothly down. When he landed at the bottom, Ash kicked it up and used it stab an Ork and rushing to my side.

Well, if that wasn't improvisation, I didn't know what was.

Ash didn't say anything to me as we fought briefly side-by-side, but at one point he sent me a strange, intense look that I didn't have time to decipher – whatever it meant, I decided quickly, it didn't look particularly pleasing on my part. I expect he would have done it again if urgent shouts from above us had not cut our fighting together short, calling for us to pull back to the Keep.

A hand roughly grabbed my good arm and jerked me backwards. I tried to free myself to attack but soon realised that it wasn't some over-confident Ork attempting to stab me from behind – it was Ash who had taken hold of me, and he was dragging me backwards, away from the fight.

I bit down on my lip in anger, and would have tasted more coppery blood if my mouth had not already been coated in the disgusting stuff. No words came to mind, but I still struggled relentlessly against him, giving him my hardest, most worthwhile glare.

Ash seemed to notice my distress, but it didn't concern him in the slightest. "We must retreat back to the Keep," he told me, and though he didn't raise his voice much over the clamour, I still understood what he had said perfectly.

I grunted in protest, still squirming doggedly in his grip. "But we are needed down here!"

"We are not!" he barked, "Our orders are to return to the Keep, and the last I checked, you are also under influence of these commands. If they wish for us to retreat, then retreat we both shall."

Eventually Ash managed to pull me away and back up to the battlements, but I certainly didn't make it easy for him; every half a minute or so I would strain furiously against his grip, but he would only yank me back even harder. "Stop – being – so –difficult!" he gasped, resorting to restraining me tightly against his chest with both arms and lifting me slightly from the stone floor. We both knew that if he released me I would probably just jump back down, most likely to my death, and there was no way Ash would risk that.

This was stupid. Why were we retreating? If we just persisted, just a little longer, we could beat them! I know we could! Although I didn't necessarily agree with sending in poor villagers who could barely raise a sword, I still seemed to be the only one that actually believed in them. The stakes were high, but I knew we could pull through.

"Let me go, Ash! I know where I'm needed!"

"Well, you obviously don't!"

We stopped arguing just in time to see a beastly looking Ork rush up behind an unsuspecting Elf, weapon raised above his head with a monstrous cry. The axe buried itself into the back of the Elf's skull, and as we watched, Ash's grip relaxed considerably. I twisted around and looked up at him; his eyes had widened in horror and his jaw had fallen open in an expression of horror.

My suspicions that they must know each other were immediately confirmed when I saw Gary fight his way through the men and fall down at the blonde Elf's side. The pain and desperation in Gary's eyes was visible, even from here. It was truly horrible to watch.

Turning my attention back to Ash, I saw his lips softly say a name that must belong to his fallen friend, and mutter a quick prayer. "Come on," he finally said, tugging on my arm. "You heard the orders, back to the Keep."

"But–" I almost said, but stopped myself just in time and followed obediently – I didn't believe he was in the mood for me being difficult anymore.

Together (and with the littlest amount of resistance from me) we battled our way through the thriving mass of figures; at one point Ash yanked me around a corner and there we stood, hidden and pressed tightly against the stone wall, as a great burst of soldiers surged past us, and we struggled to keep out of the way.

I took the opportunity to catch my breath quickly, but it wasn't long before I was being jerked along again. "This way," he hissed.

I could tell that Ash wasn't intending to be rough with me, but it was hard not to be when trying to force our through hundreds of sweaty, adrenaline-high soldiers – and, although I had eventually complied with Ash dragging me along behind him, it wasn't as if I was being particularly helpful. Even as the Elf pulled me through an open hallway, lit all along the walls with flickering torches to guide our way, his firm hold on my wrist was still uncomfortable.

We came out on the other side of the fortress. It was just as busy here, but by this time more ladders were being hoisted up against the walls. Ash scowled and dropped my arm. "Stay here," he growled and I glared at him when he turned his back. How dare he treat me like such a child! I thought we had sorted most of our differences before the fight, but clearly something was still bothering him. I had made it clear that there was nothing Ash could do to stop me from fighting, and he had seemed to relent in the end – so why was he being so abrasive towards me now?

I rubbed my wrist briefly, to soothe where he had gripped me, while Ash leaped on ahead. Though initially angry at his harsh, demanding tone, I still felt compelled to follow the order, and stayed hidden in the shadows, waiting for his return. It was times like these when I felt my old hatred for him well up again, and I envied and despised watching his stupidly graceful and deadly fighting style. Arrows barely missed him, swords viciously flew in every direction, but not once did they hit the lithe Elf, and not once did he flinch.

Watching from my hiding spot (although I loathed to describe it as such, I couldn't deny that that was what it truthfully was, damn him), Ash whipped out an arrow and nocked it, before pausing to aim for a fraction of a second and firing it into one of the hooks holding in the ladders.

A metallic clash rang through the air, and with an echoing shriek of metal against stone, the ladder fell backwards.

"Get back to the Keep, Dawn!" he yelled to me, but it was difficult to hear him, and I only just managed to pick out what he had said over the terrible clamour.

"No!" I retaliated with, clenching my sword with such pressure that – even under all the soot and blood – my knuckles turned white. My heart hammering, I left my position against the wall and joined him. "Where you fight, I fight. I will not stand down!"

"This is no time to argue with me!" Ash's eyes were burning, so much so that it almost hurt to have his gaze on me so intently. Thankfully it left me moments later, as we both caught a shout from below, diverting his keen attention completely. "Gary!" Swiping up a rope from the marred stone floor, Ash chucked it over the edge and waited for Gary and Gladad to secure themselves.

I wasn't finished with him, but as soon as he began to haul the two up the wall (with help from a few of the other men) he sent me such a look that I instantly knew our quarrel was over.

With a final sigh and a slight frown, I obeyed the original order and retreated.

**Ash's POV**

I turned away from Dawn as soon as she began backing down, making her way back into the fortress. I was certainly feeling a little more relieved now she had gone back inside – at least now I could worry about her a little less, though I was still furious with that stupid, reckless little hybr-

_No._

I mentally hit myself. I had stop thinking of Dawn like that every time I got mad with her; but I just couldn't help it! She had scared the life out of me earlier – what did she think she was doing, jumping down from the wall, following Gladad?! She could have been killed!

If only Dawn knew how much pain she had caused me in that split-second – she had scared me to the edge of the world and back, and my heart had spluttered and stopped as soon as her head had disappeared into the crowd. _What if something had gone wrong? What if I hadn't been there to help her? What if I never saw her again?_

I had never really been okay with the idea of her fighting, but Dawn had been ardent on the fact that she had just as much right as I did. Eventually, I had relented (in the end, she had made it perfectly clear that there was obviously nothing I could say or do to make her change her mind), and Dawn had promised that she would not do anything stupid, or risk her life, which foolishly I had believed.

At that moment two figures caught my eye at the foot of the wall, and I immediately recognised Gary and Gladad madly gesturing to me. Looking around for something to pull them up with, I snatched up one of the ropes that must have come loose from a ladder, or something, and threw it down the wall for them. A few men came up behind me, taking up the end of the rope in their battle-weary hands and helping me haul up the pair to the battlements.

Oh, Arceus, this was no time for me to be stressing over Dawn – not when my friends were in need! It was just hard to get over how ghastly it had felt when I thought she was dead – we had seemed to sort all our differences in the armoury, but I could no longer deny that I did not feel something between us, and I certainly didn't want that to be how we last saw each other (out of the battle, at least, I did not exactly want to count anything past that point). Dawn was steadily proving to be having an ability to wring me dry of anything I once was, reducing me to my lowest, most basic form – everything she did had an effect on me, and unfortunately not all of them good.

_For Arceus's sake, Ash, this really is no time!_

The rope burned through my hands, straining every last one of the muscles in my arms as we tried to pull Gary and Gladad to safety – I was strong, but trying to support a fully grown man and dwarf, even with help, was still quite a feat. After a few moments, I let the men behind me carry on tugging the rope, while I dropped it to grab Gary's arm, pulling him over the edge. Together, we then helped Gladad up.

"Thank you, laddie," the dwarf wheezed, nodding in my direction and looking extremely pleased to be back on firm ground again.

Gary smiled grimly, thanking me silently. "Palmer is in need of our assistance," he stated, gesturing with his head to the main body of the fortress where King Palmer must be situated.

"Then we will go to him."

We began to make our way back inside, but for a moment beforehand I caught Gary looking at me quizzically. Realising I had noticed him, he raised an eyebrow and elaborated, "I thought you were with Dawn?"

My face fell stony – I was still angry with her, but at least she had lived. "The Keep," I answered briefly, not particularly wanting her to linger on my mind any more than she already was.

While Gary and Gladad overtook my fast pace, I whipped out two arrows from my quiver and fired them into the throng. One hit an Ork square in the chest, unbalancing him and throwing him backwards off the ladder – twenty-seven, I think that made? – while the other one unhitched another of the ropes that held the ladder into the wall, and it fell backwards, drowning in a sea of enemies.

I think it was safe to add another five onto my score for that.

More shouts for the men to return to the Keep bombarded my ears, and I was starting to despair. The Orks were pushing the men back into their own fortress, while overrunning it at the same time – even their disgusting banners now fluttered across the battlements, marking the success of Zager, and the lower castle had been completely taken over. Hope was running thin and it was clear, not just to my eyes, that the men were exhausted.

Walking into the Keep was like walking into a stone wall. The gloomy sense of misery and defeat hit me as soon as I had passed through the doorway, and the air was so heavy it took a moment for me to realign my senses. Staying positive in here was going to be as easy as walking straight into Zager's abode, but it was not as if I was exactly brimming with happiness and delight anyway. I couldn't decide which was worse; the full on flavour of fury and hatred that had set the world – our world – on fire outside, or this stale, lingering aftertaste of ruin and failure that clung to the back of your throat and burned every time you swallowed.

I could not help but feel partly responsible – if I had only shot down that damn berserker with the torch, then the explosion would never have happened! The lower castle might still be within Palmer's rule, and Dawn might have never needed to throw herself from the wall, after Gladad.

After a brief word with Palmer, Gary turned to in my direction. "Ash, help the men shore up the door. Dawn, help him."

At Dawn's name I swung to face her, but she was already a step ahead, glowering at me from her curled position in a corner. A sour face showing a silently ill-minded mind gave the impression that whatever thoughts Dawn must be having about me were no prettier than the Orks, but I returned the stern gaze, wondering if she actually knew why I was angry, or if she was merely blindly returning my furious feelings.

With a sigh, Dawn pulled herself to her feet and helped me lift a long table to jam against the door. The sullen atmosphere must have gotten to her as well, but it took a lot to get her spirits down and I had to admire the dogged optimism she using to get herself through this.

I was planning on using our short amount of time together to make it clear why I was mad at her, and why her risky leap off the wall was one of the most stupid, irresponsible, reckless things she had ever done, but lifting the table together seemed to be our only interaction, and after that we began collecting the wooden planks from opposite sides of the room.

"The fortress is taken," I heard King Palmer say, though without his men and his stronghold, he was barely a king anymore. "It is over. We have failed."

Gary, however, was not going to give so easily, and his strong, determined voice rang throughout the deathly quiet room, hoping to spark some life into the low spirits of the remaining soldiers. "You said this fortress would never fall, not while you and your men defend it! They still defend it. They have died defending it! And their King should be no different!"

It was not as if I was meaning to eavesdrop, but it was hard not to when they were the only ones speaking (and quite loudly, at that). I was sure I was not the only one who happened to be listening in.

"Think of your people, Palmer," Gary continued, "Think of the women and children huddled down in the caves, cold and afraid, and praying desperately for their loved ones. There has to be another way for them to escape the caves."

There was only the heartless thudding and clanking of us slotting slabs of wood, chairs, and tables – anything we could find – against the doors to answer the man.

"Is there no other way?"

Another short stretch of sombre silence, before a voice carefully spoke up. "There is… one passage, one that leads into the mountains." one of the King's guards, eyed Palmer gingerly, but he stayed silent, mouth still pressed into a thin grey line. "But they will certainly not get far. The Orks are too strong, and too many in number."

Before Palmer had the chance to respond, Gary had jumped in. "Then we must not linger! Send word for the women and children to make for the mountain pass. Ash, how are you getting on with the barricade?"

Gary almost startled me when he had called out to me, since I had been so intently listening to what my friend and the King had to say that it was a bit of a shock to be suddenly pulled into the conversation. "The doors should hold for now."

"That is good. Make sure the entrance is secured."

I nodded briskly and got back to work again. A few stray splinters had caught in my palms and the tips of my fingers from handling some of the broken wood, and they stung a little but I could sort them out later.

Palmer closed his eyes, taking in a deep, prolonged breath, and I was sure that his heart and mind were staying firmly with the women and children down in the caves. Gary, noticing his hesitation, placed a firm hand around the King's forearm. "There is so much death, so much despair – and what little hope we have left could not counter it! What can men do against such devastating hate?"

Gary paused, now lost for words and his enthusiasm running dry. "Ride out with me. You must ride out with me and meet them."

"For death and for glory." A light of determination was shining in his eyes, and I have to admit to it raising my spirits slightly as well – anything to keep my mind off of Dawn.

"For Jublife. For your people!"

Though the skies remained permanently stained with red and black, the night was slowly bleeding away. The downpour continued, every raindrop beating the men down further, like tiny hammers, but they no longer cared; the sun was finally rising, and everybody looked up through one of the few windows to be pleasantly washed with faint light streaming through the storm and clouds.

It was the first light of the fifth day. _Look to the east_, Oak had said.

Palmer had fallen out of despair, and he called the remaining men to his side. "We shall not forfeit this day! Together we shall make a stand!"

"Yes!" Gladad eagerly rushed to steps leading to the Horn, while Gary and I exchanged determined grins. Dawn stood close to Gary, still trying to match my scorn, but even she could not resist as Palmer riled up his warriors.

Grabbing Gary and pulling him into a one armed embrace, Palmer continued to shout, now rivalling the sound of the Horn rumbling through the castle, echoing off every available wall.

"Let this be the hour when we draw swords together! No more shall we back down against our enemies! Fell deeds awake! Now is the time for wrath! For ruin! And for a red dawn!"

We mounted our horses, the adrenaline I had experienced at the very start of the battle now returning to me in one great delicious burst of fire. Dawn had no horse, so Gary pulled her onto the back of his, the two of them laughing and cheering.

With one last gusto, Palmer thrust his sword into the air, eyes glinting in a frenzy of passion and riled ecstasy. "_For Jublife_!" The King cried, and the men responded with fearsome howls and battle cries of their own, and we charged out of the gate and into the Causeway in a cloud of dust and smoke, right into a thick column of waiting Orks.

In the midst of battle, Gary shouted to me, "To the East, Ash!" and I followed his gaze to see the outline of a white rider against the rising sun. "Professor Oak!" At first the wizard was only tailed by a solitary rider, who I recognised to be Barry, the King's son, but after Barry had given the command, the hill seemed to swell with the Riders of Jubilfe.

I pursed my lips, unsure how to react – Barry and I had not exactly gotten off on a brilliant foot when we had first met (especially after I had lost my temper and threatened to put an arrow in his skull) but I had never been happier to see him than now. With him and the Riders by our side, we might actually have a chance at winning this, though the victory would be costly.

While half of the Orks turned to meet the Riders and Oak as they charged down, we were making good progress with all the slashing and hacking and bloodshed on the other side of the field, and this time I made sure to keep one eye firmly on Dawn, checking anxiously to see that she didn't repeat her last stunt (not that I didn't trust Gary to look after her, of course).

It all seemed to happen so fast – as the Riders drew closer, a light flashed and momentarily blinded the front few lines of Orks who had been ready with their spears. I could hear the crash of armour and metal, and the shouts and wails and grunts from both the men and also from the Orks. Arrows flew from my bow, and – after lasting me nearly all the way through the battle – it was suddenly empty, forcing me to use my knives.

More good men fell, as did Elves and horses, and my mind was in a blur as we fought, threading and weaving through the revolting mass of orks… and the next thing I knew everything was over, as quickly as it had begun.

"Victory! We have victory!"

I could barely believe it. It must have been some miracle, some blessing sent from Arceus – it just had to be! We had been outnumbered, with only a few of us actually trained in fighting, and the skies had not been kind, yet against all of the odds we had won.

**What did you think?  
Too much action? Not enough pearlshipping?**

**Don't worry, the next chapter should (hopefully) fix that for you, so if you want to see it up, please leave a comment or a review :) Thanks!**

**See you all soon, hopefully!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey again everyone!**

**Sorry again for the long delay, this is the first time I've been on this site in ages, I've had tons going on like exams amongst sporting injuries and all that exciting stuff. I've finished one of my GCSE's and my End of Year exams are in a week's time, so I've been revising for those.**

**To make up for the lack of pearlshipping in the last chapter, here's a chapter devoted (well… by devoted I mean a bit more than half the chapter) to it, enjoy!**

It was strange thinking that the battle was over, since when I think back it could have barely started moments ago, it seemed. But, I suppose, with a mind that has an eternity to forget things, my memories did tend to squash together sometimes. I could even still remember how it had felt when Oak had chosen us all, and my hesitance and disgust when Gladad had placed himself next to me.

Funny how now we were so close – Gary was used to it, but Palmer and his men must think we were the oddest pair to ever turn up on his door step. It wasn't a usual occurrence for an Elf and a Dwarf to be seen travelling together, let alone being friends.

I'm sure my mother would be thrilled if she knew.

While Gladad was on my mind, I spotted the Dwarf amongst the carnage and strode up to him, stroking the smooth, pale wood of my bow. When Gladad saw me, he looked up from the blade of the small throwing axe he was polishing and his broad mouth inclined towards an expecting smile.

"Final count," I began confidently, continuing to brush away the dirt and blood that had stained my bow, "Forty two."

"Forty two?" His face glowed, and he praised me with a teasing tone to his gruff voice. "Well, I suppose that's not bad for pointy-eared, Elvish princeling. I myself am sitting pretty on forty _three_." He sucked proudly on the end of his pipe and breathed out a congratulatory smoke ring.

I could feel the self-satisfied mask drop from my face the instant, as if it had grown suddenly to weigh a tonne. Gladad was good, strong competition, but there was no way I was going to let him beat me by one measly Ork.

Before Gladad could look any more pleased with himself, I whipped up my bow and fired an arrow into the 'dead' Ork's back, directly between Gladad's legs.

Startled into silence, Gladad furrowed his brow under all his hair and stared up at me, deep eyes stretched wide. "Forty three," I smugly announced, pressing my lips together to hide the amusement in my smile.

The Dwarf cast me baleful stare, but his eyes twinkled with humour. "That doesn't count!" he bristled, and his calloused fingers flexed fondly around the handle of his axe. "He was already dead! You can't add him to your score if he's already dead – especially if _I_ was the one who killed him! That's cheating!"

"He was twitching!" I protested, gesturing to the now 'officially' dead creature.

Gladad made a low noise in the back of his throat, and he jiggled the axe roughly; as he moved the weapon, the Ork's limbs trembled and lashed out in a post-death spasm. "He was twitching because he has _my axe_ embedded in his nervous system!"

Together we waited for the corpse to settle, before catching each other's eyes and bursting into laugher. "All right, then, laddie," Gladad gasped between short sniggering bursts, "I'll let you have that one, then. But _only_ because I am happy to see that you're still on your feet, and not piled up like half the rest."

I smiled warmly at him. "Forty three to each of us, then – a clean draw."

Gladad sniffed, and took another long drag from his pipe. "A _clean_ draw, indeed, lad," he scoffed, still chuckling. "You're lucky, it's not often you encounter the generosity of Dwarves on the battlefield."

I laughed brightly, spying Gary closing in on us. "Then lucky I am!" I extended my hand to the Dwarf, but Gladad simply brushed it off and hauled himself up with the handle of his axe.

"It's all right, laddie, I'm not frail yet," he said, but his tone was light and, once he was up, we joked together some more while making our way over to Gary. "Just you wait, Ash, one day we'll have a proper contest to see which one of us truly is the better Dwarf!" Gladad was telling me just as we met with Gary halfway, and the man sent us a bemused, quizzical look.

Chuckling, I shook my head. Gary embraced the two of us, before joining us on our walk back to the fortress (or what remained of the fortress, at least).

"I'm glad to see that the fight has not changed you two, then! You are still the same as ever, I see," Gary beamed at us, putting one arm around my shoulders and the other on Gladad's back, and we laughed as he pulled us in together. It felt good, just us three together again – just like old times.

"How is Dawn? I mean, I thought I saw her with you earlier… I didn't realise you weren't with her," I said, accidentally stumbling over my tongue a little, which caused Gladad and Gary to exchange chuckles and sly smirks.

"What I think he's trying to say," Gladad decided to finish for me, smiling evilly, "Is that he's rather concerned about the whereabouts of our Dawn. Would you happen to know where she is?"

Subtly, I tried to glare at him, but Gladad just looked away as if he had said nothing, despite the obvious smirk.

Gary raised an eyebrow at me, awaiting my response, and I could feel myself going a bit red. "I – I wouldn't have phrased it _exactly_ like that… but, I – if it's possible, I would like to know if she made it out all right."

I had admitted to myself that I did indeed feel something for Dawn (even though I was still annoyed at her for putting her life at risk) but after the way we had started off, I don't think I was ready to admit all this out loud to my friends.

They certainly did seem to like teasing me about it though – maybe they had guessed?

After letting me stutter on hopelessly for a few more minutes, Gary finally decided to put me out of my misery. "She's resting in the infirmary, Ash. Apart from a few minor injuries, Dawn is fine, albeit exhausted – this was her first major fight, after all."

I breathed a sigh of relief – at least she wasn't dead, I was grateful for that, at least. "Palmer's losses are great, but at least she had the wits to stay alive," Gary said, but I had some trouble agreeing entirely with him.

Gladad looked up at Gary – we were no longer laughing. "That many?" he asked, his voice losing some of its usual strength. "I knew that there was little hope when we began this, but I did not realise…"

"All have fought valiantly, dear Gladad, and none shall be forgotten. Without them all, I doubt we would be standing here right now."

We bowed our heads in unison, stealing a short moment of silence from the final calm after the storm, in the midst of the destruction that the actual storm had caused. It would be a long time before Jubilife would be able to recover from such a massive loss, but somehow I reckon that Palmer would manage.

**Dawn's POV**

I don't remember much about what happened after the battle was over. All that I can recall was falling to my knees, my muscles failing and my grip losing its hold on my knife. A great sense of relief washed over me, but it must have been stronger than I initially guessed, as I was so happy to be alive, the sudden calm must have addled my brain somehow – after collapsing, my mind is blank and I couldn't think what might have happened for the life of me.

I know I must have reunited with Gary, as I remember him sorting me out from the mesh of bodies (all of whom were either deliriously ecstatic to be alive, or otherwise…) and embracing me tightly. Gladad might have been there also, although that might just be my confused thoughts slipping back to when I met him during the fight and getting the times mixed up – I wasn't quite sure.

But, whatever happened, the next thing I knew I was lying on a thin matt on the floor, a couple of blankets knotted around my legs from what I assumed was a restless few moments of sleep, and I was in a large hall, now turned into a makeshift infirmary.

I tried to sit up, but my stomach churned and my head began spinning in circles, an aching sensation spreading throughout the sore, mutilated flesh where my arm had been damaged. There was also a horrible nag in my right shoulder blade; I rolled my arm backwards a few times, trying to rid myself of the pain, but it only made it worse – it seemed something was stuck back there, probably one of the arrows that had pierced me when I had leapt from the wall, then broken off and jammed in the flesh between my shoulder joint. I didn't want to even attempt to try and take it out – it was painful enough when I even tried to move it, and it's not like I could reach it anyway. I'd have to wait probably until Alice came to check on me, or one of the other helpers: But they were all considerably busy, so there was no telling when that might be.

"Glad to see that you are finally awake, lass!" The voice belonged to Gladad, and I swung around to greet him so fast that I felt a bit light-headed again.

Seeing that I was slightly incapacitated, I reached up my arms and the Dwarf bent down to wrap his arms around me happily, carefully avoiding my shoulder. Maybe I hadn't seen him since when we had met during the battle? Either way, I was more than happy to see him now. "Gladad! You're alive!"

Gladad sniffed and grinned at me through a mesh of bushy auburn and knotted braids. "Of course I am. It will take a lot more than a few simple-minded Orks to cut me down!"

I was far too happy to remind him that his 'few simple-minded Orks' had been an army of over ten-thousand, fully armed, but knowing Gladad it wouldn't have much of a difference, whether they Orks or squirrels.

Ash shifted beside him, arms folded across the scarred leather covering his chest. His pale face had been cleaned, but a few scratches were still visible and his features were as unreadable and expressionless as ever.

I frowned – was he not happy to see me alive? His fingers flexed uncomfortably, and he kept swapping his arms around, almost as if he wanted to hug me but something was holding him back. Maybe he didn't want to do it front of Gladad? Those two had a strange, but close relationship, so there really was no telling what the pair would do next.

"Good god, my girl!" Gladad gasped and pointed to my shoulder blade. "That's a lot of blood!"

"Where?" I gasped, trying to look over my shoulder. I couldn't see much, but a dark crimson stain that was creeping down the back of my right arm caught my eye – it must have been from the arrow, when it was still bleeding while I slept.

Ash's eyes were hard but his expression softened when he saw me twitch in pain. "You're hopeless," he muttered under his breath, and with that the Elf knelt down by my side and started untangling one of the blankets wrapped around my ankles.

Gladad looked down (for once, instead of the other way round) at where Ash was kneeling and smiled innocently. "I'm sure you can handle the young lass by yourself, laddie." I almost reached out to stop him from leaving, but he slipped away before I could say or do anything. Damn, I didn't particularly want to be left alone with Ash. On any other occasion, I would have been okay with it, but he didn't look very happy with me. Was this because of what happened between us before we parted for the battle?

To be honest, I just wanted to hug him. He was alive, and so was I – whatever it was that I had supposedly done wrong, I just wanted to be put behind us for just one moment while we actually acknowledged each other's existence, and rejoice in the fact that we were both still breathing.

We waited in silence for a few moments. Meanwhile, once Ash had helped free my legs, I took one of the blankets from him to help soak up the blood on my arm.

"Turn around," he said, "You mustn't leave that shard in your shoulder – it will only get worse, the longer you leave it in." He shifted to move round behind me, but I stuck out my leg in his way, stopping him from getting any further.

"No. I do not want you touching it. It hurts enough as it is, and I do not wish for you to make it worse! I'll wait for Alice, or one of the other women, to visit – I'm certain they will be a lot gentler than you."

"But it will only–" he started, but stopped halfway through, giving up with an exasperated sigh. "Fine. Suit yourself. But they have a lot of injured men to tend to, and it will be a long time before one of them reaches you," Ash sniffed and returned to his original position opposite me. "I only wished to help, anyway, but it seems you are, as usual, stubbornly incapable of accepting any advice."

Narrowing my eyes at him, I scowled. What was wrong with him? I expected him to be happy I was still alive! Wasn't that what he was scared of in the first place, that I would be slaughtered on the spot?

More silence followed, and I decided that the constant uncomfortable quiet between us proved to be more painful than any of my actual injuries.

"For Arceus's sake, Ash, just tell me. What did I do wrong this time?" I finally asked, voice laced with sarcasm. I wasn't expecting an answer, however.

His hands slammed down in frustration and he hissed, "You know what you did. You can be so unbelievably _stupid_ sometimes, you realise that?"

My jaw dropped, and I almost wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all. _Almost_. "I know what I did?" I repeated, my voice breaking with a hysterical strain. "I wouldn't have asked if I knew! Why are you acting like this?"

After a few more seconds of intense glaring, trying to stare each other down, I eventually got my answer. "During the fight, when you jumped down from the battlements! What were you thinking? You could've been killed!"

It irritated me that he was telling me off when I was only trying to help, especially when he had no right to do so. Unfortunately, as much as I loathed admitting it, I knew there was a kernel of truth to his words. This only made me that much more annoyed at him.

"I don't understand how that was wrong!" I retorted back, clenching my fists and trying to forget the pain in my arm. "They needed help down there, and I wasn't going to let Gladad fight alone! What kind of horrible person would I be if I just left my friend to die?!"

I didn't mention that seeing the Dwarf in danger had reminded me of when Ash had saved my life from the wolf before – I must have been as helpless as some of those poor young men who had been forced to fight, but couldn't even wield a sword properly, let alone protect themselves. I felt I needed to do something, because if I couldn't repay Ash, then the least I could do was lend my aid to someone else.

"A sane one!" he angrily growled, "There was no need to put yourself at risk." He saw me soaking up the blood on my arm and let out an exasperated sigh. Moving closer, he stole the blanket from my hands and ripped a few strips of cloth from it, before starting to wrap them around the wound.

I didn't even bother to respond, let alone start a yelling match with him. But it wasn't just because I was too afraid of waking up the exhausted soldiers, or that I was too tired to fight back against him, it was because I couldn't think of anything to say. He was right, yet again, but that still didn't mean that I was completely wrong. I was still sure that my actions were correct, no matter what he said, and there was nothing he could do to change my mind.

The air was so tense around us, like we were trapped inside our own little dank, confined bubble, though it wasn't like I was expecting it to be very cheerful exactly – we were in an infirmary, after a massive, important battle. It was definitely warmer than I first thought it would be in here, though I'm not sure whether that was just the fever from my injury beginning to set in, or whatever else.

I shifted around on the thin matt we sitting on, trying to get comfortable. "At least we're both still alive," I finally said, though it came it a lot quieter and meeker than I had originally meant it to be. Ash just scoffed at me and grabbed up another piece of cloth.

This feeling was all too familiar – me in pain, and Ash either shouting at me or trying to help me, usually at the same time. It always seemed to be my injuries that brought us closer.

"And what about you? What if you had left with more than just a sliced arm, or a punctured shoulder? What if you had come back without an arm, or worse, not come back at all?"

I clicked my tongue at him in frustration, annoyed at his little amount of faith in me to survive. "Don't you trust me to look after myself?" I hissed at him, so tempted to rip my arm out from his grip, and if he hadn't been doing such a good job in fixing up me up, then I probably would have done just that.

"I used to, until you pulled that stupid stunt," the Elf replied with bitterly, his face giving me intense look of disapproval. I couldn't stand to look at it anymore so averted my gaze and instead noticed his own bandages, just visible through a gap in his shirt. His injury from before still hadn't healed fully, and was sure to leave a horrible scar. But Gary was right, Ash was strong, and he was lucky to survive with _just_ a scar.

In fact I was lucky just to have him around at all, otherwise I wouldn't be here.

"_Stupid stunt_," I repeated darkly under my breath, feeling anger swell up inside of me. "You know, if I had the chance, I'd do it again." As soon as the words had passed through my lips, I almost wanted to draw them back again, since he seemed to lose all the control that he had shakily held previously – but then I remembered that I would regret nothing when proving my point to him.

His grip tightened abruptly. "Don't you ever be so careless again!" he snarled, matching the blazing rage I felt for him. My hands curled into fists, so tightly that I could feel my knuckles beginning to go white under the pressure, almost ready to lash out at him in my fury. "How do you think the rest of us would feel if you had gone and killed yourself like that?! You have people that care about you, and if you were not so impossibly reckless and stupid all the time then you would realise that!"

"I was not careless!" My eyes were starting to feel wet with frustrated tears, and I was struggling to keep my voice to minimum. "I admit it was a little improvised, and I was not thinking straight, but _so what_? I'm alive now, aren't I? Is that not good enough for you? I am glad I did what I did! I made the right choice, don't you understand that?!"

This time it was Ash who didn't have a response. I was expecting him to come right out with something like "No, I do not understand, because you _didn't_ make the right choice!" but instead he stayed silent, and continued wrapping cloth over my wound. His fingers were gentle and I barely noticed their light, swift work until now. It seemed that it would only be a matter of minutes before he was done.

Finally, he let out a soft breath and his hands paused for a second. His warm breath lingered within the tiny amount of room between us, and though he had calmed slightly, fire was still burning brightly in his keen brown eyes. Then he started to speak again, though with a different tone to his voice. Still with the same sharpness he always adopted while speaking to me, but there was definitely something different about it. Something softer that was underlying his voice.

"Listen… I apologise. I was just... we were worried about you." For a second his eyes met mine and then his fingers began dancing with the cloth again on my arm.

Feeling my rage drain from me in practically an instant, I lifted my hand and placed the tips of my fingers on his cheek. His skin was surprisingly cold against the otherwise warm and stuffy air, but he'd never looked more beautiful in my eyes before than he did right now. I didn't know how much longer I could hold out, because if he didn't do something about it soon, then I knew I would. My anger had completely transformed into something different.

Then, not much louder than a whisper, he said, "You're so reckless," before he dipped his head and our lips connected in a rough kiss. The moment we were brought together, my body crumbled completely, melting under his influence. His calloused palms flattened against the sore flesh of my arm, slipping slightly upwards to my elbow and pulling me in nearer, and my fingers snaked along his jaw, tangling desperately in the soft braids of his white-gold hair. The heat of his lips warmed me from the inside, spreading gloriously throughout me, and my vision swayed and staggered, trying to remember whether the people who surrounded us actually existed, or it was just us two, alone in perfect harmony, like I felt – and was on the verge of believing – it was right now. Had I felt this woozy when I came into the infirmary, or was he just making my condition worse? Not that I minded, of course.

Unlike the messy, sudden kiss we had quickly shared that one time in the barn, which had left both of us confused and conflicted about how we felt about one-another, this one was so much more controlled. It was filled with so much more passion, so much more _meaning_. Before, we had had no idea what had happened, in fact we didn't even mean for anything to happen. But now... everything was just perfect.

He must have felt me relax against him, as I felt him smile against my mouth, and his lips parted slightly. "You really let down your guard around me," he noted in a soft, murmuring voice, slightly muffled.

I paused and opened my eyes, staring quizzically at him. Was that supposed to be some sort of cryptic message or–?

Before I had time to decipher the possible meanings of his strange, sudden statement, one of his hands left my waist and in a single, swift, blurred movement he reached around my shoulder and whipped out the broken arrow head. I cried out, though it happened so quickly that I barely felt any pain at all – my yelp was more in surprise than any sort of agony.

With a thin smile, he held up the rusted shard of metal, before discarding it over his shoulder. "Did – did you just–?!" I stuttered, confused on whether I should be seriously annoyed at him or in awe at how painless it was.

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't let you leave it for much longer. You'll thank me later."

A blush tinted my cheeks pink and Ash fastened the final strips of cloth around my wrist. My mouth felt bruised from the pressure of where his had left mine, still tingling slightly.

"You had no idea how scared I was when you jumped into the battle. I'm glad you're safe... but please, be more careful next time," Ash murmured, rubbing his thumb softly against the back of my hand. I melted again with comfort and warmth at the small gesture of reassurance, and I felt instantly calmed.

"At the risking of breaking it, I do not think it is safe for me to make that promise."

Ash smiled softly, but there was a hint of sadness in his gently amused expression. "Maybe that's for the best then," he agreed, placing his hands in his lap – he looked as if he were about to leave. "I should go. I promised Gary I would not be long, and Gladad will also be waiting." He chuckled faintly and pulled himself to his feet. "You should rest now. I'm sorry about your shoulder…"

"It's fine," I assured him, reaching across my body to rub the wound soothingly. "At least it doesn't hurt anymore… well, not much, anyway."

"It will heal. Alice will find you soon, I'm sure." Ash nodded and I watched him gracefully pull himself to his feet. "I'll see you when you feel better. Promise."

Before I could stop myself, I heard myself giggle. "I look forward to it, then."

**Hope that chapter made up pearlshipping-wise. **

**That chapter was slightly shorter than the others, but due to how busy I was it was all I could get out.  
Oh yeah, before I forget, I released another story before my absence. If any of you have any suggestions for that story, be sure to let me know :) **

**Please comment and review, it helps me get out new chapters quicker, thanks.**

**See you guys soon!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys!**

**Whoop! Half-a-centurion-of-reviews! Thanks a bunch to all that reviewed :D**

**Sorry this chapter is shorter than the rest, but this was all I could do in the time available to me, sorry. **

**Hopefully after this I can be more consistent with chapters, I've been preparing like hell for the exams I've got through the whole of next week and I should (note: 'should') be free to write more chapters after. But for now, enjoy this :D**

There wasn't much laughter or playful chattering in the air as the horses plodded along, but the general atmosphere was light and the sun was warm and there was a pleasant breeze in the air – overall, the journey to our destination was quite enjoyable.

Ash and I were certainly closer than we had ever been before (even more so when you take into account how much we had hated each other at our first meeting), and we both certainly felt inclined to spend a little more time around each other, especially after our kiss in the infirmary. After some thought, I had definitely decided that Alice was right – I did like him, more than I had ever liked anyone before, and I desperately wanted Ash to return these unfamiliar feelings. I had never particularly felt this way towards anyone before, so it was strange to me when I decided that I enjoyed spending time around him, and I maybe even enjoyed the arguments and constant bickering that we threw between us, and I _definitely_ enjoyed him kissing me, though I wasn't sure how to react at first.

Of course, I knew ages ago that I didn't hate Ash as much as I always tried to convince myself I did, and that I did think he was extremely attractive (and despite being horrible to me half of the time, I knew the Elf could be sweet and endearing, as he proved in the armoury before we had gone off to fight), and, with the help of Alice's constant nagging me about him, I came to accept my feelings for him.

But, of course, there were always complications. Yes, we had kissed once (twice if you count that time in Jubilife, but I tried to think about that as little as possible these days) and what I felt for him was strong, an emotion more powerful than anything I had ever experienced before… but I was far too nervous to just go and walk up to him, stating that I wanted to continue this whole little 'thing' we had – and, besides, what if Ash had changed his mind? What if he thought that the whole ordeal had been a mistake, and he never wanted to look me in the eye again?

I knew this was a worse case scenario, but I still didn't want to risk it. If Ash really did feel the same way… well, then, he was going to have to prove it, since when it came to me reading how he felt, I was as useless as a sword made from paper.

Besides, even if he did feel the same, I doubted we could have kept up a relationship in these conditions (and I still wasn't sure he entirely trusted me yet). Things were just far too complicated for us both to deal with, and I suppose… well, that was that.

The thought depressed me and I found myself scowling as Barry's horse plodded us both forward. I had been planning on sharing a horse with Gary, since I still didn't have one of my own (nor did I particularly want one – not that I didn't love them; I thought they were fantastic beasts, it's just I didn't trust myself riding one by myself), as I always had, but had secretly hoped that Ash would offer.

However, just as we had been about to set off, I was surprised to find Barry approaching me.

I looked up the tall man, and it was evident that I must have looked rather startled as Barry laughed and help me buckle the rest of mine and Gary's supplies onto the back of the saddle.

"My lady, I seem to have frightened you," he spoke smoothly, and I was torn on how to react – the first time I had met Barry, he had insulted me (however this had caused Ash to speak up angrily on my behalf, a small gesture which I had never really appreciated fully until now), and this made me inclined to scowl and turn my back to him.

However, he had called me _my lady_, a title which nobody ever called me – and I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it slightly. It had been a long time since anyone had addressed me as 'my lady', or even 'miss' for that matter, and it made me feel quite powerful and renowned, as if men should be expected to kneel and lightly peck my hand before addressing me fully.

Which, you know, would be quite fun if I actually _was_ that sort of woman – I wasn't, unfortunately, but I did rather like the name when it came from Barry's mouth.

But Barry was also smiling – in fact, overall, he just looked generally happier, and while at first I had thought him to be a rather sour, arrogant, serious looking man, I admit he looked a lot more inviting when he smiled.

In the end, though, despite still being a little miffed about the last time we had met, the _my lady_ thing had caught me off guard and I ended up giggling a bit and grinning back at him.

"You did not frighten me," I assured him, yanking tightly on the last strap – but, despite my efforts to control it, my momentary trepidation did not go unnoticed. Thankfully, Barry decided to ignore it, most likely for my own sake and sense of pride. "I just did not expect to see you, that was all."

The corners of Barry's mouth turned upwards slightly and he smirked down at me (he really was quite tall, about the same height as Ash, or maybe even closer to Gary's height). "Am I not allowed to speak to you, then?" He laughed brightly, and though I felt a little insecure in his gaze, I found myself joining him. "Or has my sister said something terrible about me?"

Great Arceus, I had forgotten that Barry wa sAlice's brother! Now I had remembered it, I did see the strong resemblance – they had the same flaxen hair, like a great field of corn or wheat, and also the same intense fire burning fiercely behind twin pairs of eyes (though Barry's were more of a hazel, while Alice's were almost grey in colour). They could almost be twins, but Barry's tanned and weather-beaten skin gave him away, giving the impression of an older man – at least older compared to Alice's softer, pinker tone, that is.

"No, no! Don't worry, on any occasion where Alice _has_ mentioned you, every word was meant well."

"Meant well?" he repeated, looking more and more amused at how flustered I was getting – Barry had caught me off guard twice already, first with making me jump when he snuck up on me, and the second for just being so… nice? Not that I ever doubted he wasn't a nice person… he just wasn't when I first met him, that was all. "That is good I suppose. At least my sister did not speak terribly of me, at least that I am thankful for! I am sure you already have a bad first impression of me, so there would be no need for her to make it worse." He smiled and I returned it warily.

"So, did you need something?" I asked, and Barry looked at me blankly for a second, before seemingly remembering his purpose for coming over.

"Ah, yes… well, firstly, I would like to apologise."

"Apologise?" He looked sincere enough, but I didn't know the man well enough to believe him on that alone. "You came to apologise to me?"

Barry smiled sheepishly, keeping eye contact but reaching out to the horse I was holding and patting its side. "Yes. I believe that when we first spoke I was… shall we say, more than a little rude to you. I am also sorry that I could not apologise sooner, as I have not seen you since, nor did I know you."

I blushed, feeling the heat rush to my face in a torrent of scarlet. "You, um, still do not know me."

Barry grinned, a strong, charming smile made velvet and silk, it seemed. "Ah, yes, my lady, but I would like to change that. Please, forgive me. I insulted you before I knew what an able warrior you were, and that was wrong of me." He pressed his hand to his chest and bowed his head, awaiting my answer patiently.

I laughed nervously, slowly nodding my head – I still wasn't used to that _my lady_ thing; and had he really just called me an able warrior? "Yes, of course. Don't feel bad, it was partly my fault anyway. I should not have lost my temper so swiftly."

"Even so," Barry continued, "I insulted you nonetheless, and for that I am sorry. I should not have disrespected your right to travel and fight, especially as you have proven yourself to be so skilful at it."

I bit my lip, trying to contain some of my joy at his completely undeserved praise – he was surely just trying to make up for being rude to me by showering me in compliments, and frankly he was doing a very good job at it.

Even though Ash had promised me he would trust me from now, I still wasn't so sure that the Elf was willing to fully put his faith in me just yet – I had scared him too much by jumping from the wall into the midst of battle, and, though I had come out of it alive, Ash's faith in me had crumbled.

So, Barry calling me an able warrior seemed like a breath of fresh air in comparison. It was nice that someone – whoever it was – actually believed in me, for once.

"Then... you are quite forgiven, if you put it that way."

Barry bowed his head again, this time in gratitude. "Thank you, Dawn." He raised his eyebrows and looked at me quizzically. "You do not have a horse of your own, do you?"

I shook my head, part of me wondering where he was going with this. "No, this is Brego, Gary's horse. I am to share with him, as I have done many times in the past."

"Then, please, by all means share with me! It is the least I could do, and I would be honoured to have you by my side as we travel."

"That's very kind of you, Lord Barry… but, Garry–"

"Oh, I am sure he will not mind, if we explain to him. Please, I insist, Dawn. It would set my heart at ease if you were to join me."

Feeling a little overwhelmed by his offer, I looked over my shoulder to see if Gary was anywhere nearby – he was, but he was in deep conversation with King Palmer, while Ash and Gladad chatted and joked close beside them.

Ash looked up and our eyes caught for a fleeting, heated moment, before I forced myself to look away.

I breathed in, returning my gaze to Barry's, who was waiting patiently. "Yes, okay then. I will ride with you."

**~0~**

My body was strung with tension as the snowy white horse squirmed and whinnied beneath my grip, and even more so when Barry noticed me falter and placed a steadying hand on my shoulder. We had been travelling for some time, though I hadn't taken the liberty to count the hours exactly; all I knew was that I was very relieved when we stopped to camp. (We were getting closer to our destination, but Oak was unsure of what might happen when we arrived there, and he wanted us all to be rested).

I didn't realise how much I was missing Alice's company until now – so far, both Barry and Gary had managed to keep me distracted, and I also made sure we were never far away from Ash, since it made me feel a bit better knowing he was just that much closer.

"Jubilife is of great beauty, Barry. You are lucky to live in such a magnificent place," I decided to tell Barry, trying to strike up some conversation to get my mind away from missing Alice.

"I'm glad you think that – I was worried that after the battle you would not think it so pretty!" Barry's voice was bright as his laugh rang out, but there was a hint of something hollow in his tone that I did not point out. "So, tell me of your home? I hear from Gary that you are from Viridian Forest descent?"

I nodded, before stretching my hands out towards a fire that was burning in the middle of the camp – it had not taken us long to set everything up, and now we were all just relaxing, and talking away the wear of the day around the campfire.

"Yes, and no. Though I have not been there for years. The Elves of Tadasea Wood were all originally from Viridan, but we left when the forest fell into darkness – I'm sorry, I don't know too much about it." I swept up a stick from the floor and threw it into the flames, watching them the fiery tongues lick it as it crackled and burned. For a second, the campfire glowed brighter, before dwindling down again.

Gary and Palmer had already decided to lie down for the night, and Oak was also resting quietly against a tree, though I wasn't sure if he was asleep or not. Ash had disappeared to somewhere, traipsing off to wherever he always went when he wished for some peace and quiet with only nature as his company, but Gladad (though occasionally closing his eyes and sucking contentedly on his pipe) I knew to be still awake.

"Why did you leave Twinleaf?" I was startled when Barry brought me crashing so suddenly back into the conversation, as we had fallen quiet for some time beforehand.

I shrugged, suddenly feeling a pang of homesickness to go along with the yearning I felt for my best friend's company. "I grew bored of it, I suppose. There is not much else to say, beside that."

Besides, I had had to leave – when Gary, Ash, and Gladad had arrived, Ash had found out about me not being a full-blood Elf, and the King of our village was… shall we say, not too keen on humans. It wouldn't have been good for me to stay there for much longer, despite it being the only home I had ever known.

"You grow bored of places easily?"

Again, I wasn't quite sure how to reply. "Not exactly… I suppose I just don't like being confined to one place."

"And what about people?"

I was starting to grow uncomfortable, and it didn't help that Ash had arrived back just at the moment, throwing us a look before settling cross-legged next to Gladad. I wanted to speak to him, but I didn't want to leave Barry, and I doubted there would be much of anything for us to talk about anyway – I just hoped he hadn't forgotten about me, that was all.

"I… I'm not too sure. I hope not," my voice trailed off into silence. I realised I was biting my lip so hard from nerves that I was beginning to taste copper in the back of my throat. "I'll tell you what," I said quickly – a little too quickly, as Barry quirked an eyebrow at me but thankfully didn't say anything – in a feeble attempt to change the subject, "Get some sleep now, and tomorrow I can teach you how to grass-whistle."

"Grass-whistle?" Barry repeated, sounding bemused, "What's that?"

"It's exactly what it sounds like. I'd demonstrate now but I don't want to wake up the others – it can get quite loud. The Elflings used to do it all the time, back in Twinleaf."

A grin stretched across Barry's face and he chuckled quietly. "I look forward to it."

Just like that I was left alone again. It hadn't taken long for Barry to fall asleep, and though I was tired, for some reason my body didn't quite want to retire just yet.

I felt my conscience getting caught up in Ash and Gladad's hushed banter, letting myself float absently in a dreamless state. I was still awake, I knew it from the way I could still feel the chilled, velvet blades of grass against my cheek, from where I was resting my head against the ground, and the crackle and snap of twigs and leaves as I shifted my weight around, trying to get comfortable. I was certainly still listening in on my two friends, but other than that my mind felt empty, the words skimming across my mind like a soft breeze scarcely breaking the surface of a lake.

There was a slight scuffling sound, and I heard Gladad laugh while Ash hummed, the smirk evident in his voice.

"How exactly does this help you?" he asked the Dwarf sceptically, but I was too tired to open my eyes and find out the object of their conversation. "Surely you wouldn't be able to see?" Another rustle, followed by a muted thud of wood tapping the ground, causing Ash to cry out. "Careful with that! That was my gift from Lady Nonzumi, and you know perfectly well that I like to take care of it!"

The Lady of the Golden Wood? They must be talking about the bow that Ash was so proud of.

Gladad plucked the bow strung and it echoed with an eerie _twang_; you could practically hear Ash wince at the sound. "What I don't understand, lad, is how you manage to rival me with naught but a pretty piece of wood and an old string!" he teased, pulling at the bowstring again.

"My bow is _not_ just some carved piece of wood and string, Gladad. It was made by the Elves of Old themselves, and – together with the arrows that go with it – it serves me well." A hard, metallic clang. "I _still_ don't understand how this helps! How do you see when you have such a great lump of metal on your head?"

"And _I_ still don't understand how you can fight _without_ a helmet, lad!" Ah, so it was Gladad's helmet that Ash was so confused about! Things made a little more sense now. I suddenly had the strangest, most adorable image of Ash trying to fit Gladad's helmet over the tips of his pointed ears, while the Dwarf had taken one of his friend's arrows and was attempting to nock it into place.

After a while, the two friends trailed off and sat in content silence with one another, unaware that I was still vaguely awake and listening to them – I didn't think I would last much longer though, as by now my mind was jerking back and forth between sleep and reality. I just managed to hear Gladad say something along the lines of, "By the way… how are you and Dawn?" before falling completely into black.

**~0~**

"No, no, like this!" I laughed, slowing Firefoot (which Barry had informed me was his horse's name) slightly so I could reach down and pluck up another long blade of grass from the forest floor. "Let me show you again – you aren't very good at this, are you?" I sniggered, flattening out the piece of grass between my palms before holding it in place between my two thumbs. A squeaky, high pitched sound reverberated throughout the trees as I blew through the tiny space between my thumbs, giggling at how horrendous it sounded.

"Well, you aren't a very good teacher! Those who can't do, teach," Barry said, his eyes glinting with amusement. I elbowed him lightly to shut him up.

"Shush, stop mocking me and let the master show you how it is done."

"When is the master getting here, then?"

"That is not being quiet, Lord Barry," I told him but I knew he was laughing. I showed him carefully again how to set the grass between his thumbs, but he was no good at it and the result sounded even worse than when I tried to grass-whistle.

Oak, who was the one leading our small company through the thick, humid mist and dark forest of Fangorn, chuckled softly. "This forest is distressed enough, Miss Dawn, I'm sure it does not need your musical prowess to lighten its mood."

"There's nothing a bit of music won't fix!" I replied, laughing, but decided to stop with the music lessons as Barry was getting nowhere with them, and I certainly was no musical virtuoso when it came to grass-whistling (if it could even pass as music, that is). We were nearing the old tower anyway; I had gathered it from the way Oak had allowed us to slow our pace as Bewilder opened before us, creating an avenue of trees which allowed us access to the ruins of the old road.

The great stone wall was cracked and splintered into countless jagged shards of heavy stone, and far off, half veiled in swirling steam, stood the Old Tower . It stood tall and menacing, unbroken by the storm of battle and pale waters which lapped around its feet.

Just looking at it made me feel very small, and the power that emanated from it caused me to shrink back into Firefoot's saddle, gripping the hardened leather with cold fingers.

Strangely, however, atop of the smashed jumble of what was left of the great wall… was a picnic. Two small, peculiar creatures were perched ontop, one yellow with black stripes and the other black with yellow rings around its body. Next to them stood what looked like an... ancient walking tree? Upon seeing us, the sentient tree began speaking, slowly and its words dragged on.

"Welcome, my Lords-" there was a small pause as it noticed me riding in front of Barry, "And lady, to the Old Tower!"

"Pika!"

**How was that? :D **

**Sorry I don't know how many words it is, this is the first time I'm actually writing the chapter on fanfiction instead of on Word.**

**With Dawn and Barry's developing relationship as well as that of Dawn and Ash's, what will happen next? I'm pretty sure you guys all know anyways :P But in case you don't, stay tuned for next time!**

**Please comment and review, thanks!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey guys! Do you still remember me?**

**Sorry for the lack of content lately, I've been really busy with life in general. But hopefully, this chapter should make it up :D  
Hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and like the bit of Ash- teasing inside.**

I had to admit, I was slightly captivated by the two young beings at first sight; they were raucous and incoherently friendly (especially considering they had never seen me before in their lives, and I didn't know if Barry had ever come in contact with either of them), laughing and joking and blatantly ignoring all of our shocked expressions – and not to mention the fact that they were so small! Gary or Barry at least must have been nearly ten times the height of them.

Oak halted in front of the wall and rest of slowed to a stop behind him. Firefoot ended up standing next to Arod, and while Gladad spluttered indignantly over their two friends' sudden appearance I managed to sneak a quick peak up at Ash.

The Elf was smiling at the two (P-Pikachu and Uberon was it? No… not, it was Umbreon, Pikachu and Umbreon), a sweetly amused, contagious smirk that I could feel creeping onto my own lips the longer I watched him. It was so easy and natural, accompanied with bright, laughing eyes that I felt my breath quicken ever so slightly at the sight.

"Why you–! You young rascals! After all we've been through – a merry hunt you've led us on, through forest and field, and now we find you playing about and… and relaxing!" Gladad was having trouble trying to hide his envy at the fact that the two didn't spend the past few weeks trekking through forest and dirt.

The company laughed and Oak shook his head, while I watched on curiously a short distance back. "Pokemon!" the wizard boomed – so I was right! They _were_ Pokemon! What curious, delightful, little creatures! "Pikachu," Oak said, nodding towards the yellow rat-like thing with black stripes down it's back, who was still standing, "and Umbreon, my friends. It has been a long time."

"Pika! Pikachu, chaa!" Pikachu said, smiling brightly.

Before I had time to ask, Ash cut in and translated, "He agrees! And Pikachu see that our circle of friends has grown since we parted." He jerked his head briskly over to Barry and I, as well as King Palmer. I smiled back, and Pikachu gave a strange, wonky sort of bow.

Umbreon jumped on top of Gary's horse, and was greeted by a gently embrace while Pikachu, the more lively of the two, took a great leap and landed on top of Ash's shoulder – an impressive move indeed – and squirmed with pleasure as Ash rubbed the back of its left ear. I smiled, seeing the interaction between the two. I assume Pikachu is looked after by Ash while Umbreon is by Gary. Seeing the two reminds me of… actually, never mind. I vowed never to return or think about that place again, even though I left somebody very precious to me behind.

Snapping out of my momentary daze, I noticed that we had started following Oak, swerving in and out of the crumbling jigsaw of rocks, and entered into the shadow of the old Tower.

Strangely, its roots planted deep within the now-murky waters that lapped around us, just outside of the dark Tower there stood a tree. Rather a strange place to plant a tree, if you ask me, though it certainly did brighten up the place a little.

There was a long creak and slowly the tree blinked.

Wait… _blinked?_

I felt Barry tense behind me, and Firefoot tossed back his head, growing restless under the Lord's suddenly tightened grip.

Great Arceus… was this one of the fabled Ents that had passed from life into legend an age ago? I never doubted their existence, and I knew that it was the Elves that had woken them from their slumber and taught them the ways of words all those aeons ago, but I had not yet seen one with my very own eyes.

We all stared at it in silence and awe, the only people completely unfazed by the Ent's presence being Oak and the two Pokemon, before suddenly great '_hoooom_' broke the through the quiet, startling both the Firefoot and myself.

The strange noise sounded like a strange combination of damp wood creaking under strain and a deep, breathy sigh, and it took me a few moments for the variation of creaks to form words in my head. "Young master Oak, I'm glad you've come."

_Young_ master Oak? What a strange thought! If Oak appeared young to the Ent I wonder how the rest of us must look! As Elflings, perhaps?

"I have taken control of the outpost," the Ent continued in his slow, rhythmic tones, "but there is a wizard locked in this tower still. Wood and water, stock and stone, I can manage, but managing one of the wizards is a skill that is beyond my reach."

Gary threw back his head, throwing his voice to the very top of the tower. "Show yourself!"

I gulped, feeling a lump forming in my throat. Another wizard? Locked up? My brain felt addled, slightly confused at what was going on, but I was too afraid to say – it certainly did not feel like asking questions.

"We need him alive. We must speak to him, but be careful; even in defeat, Zager is dangerous. We cannot just have his head and be done with it." Oak's hushed tones were sharp and wary, his voice strained as a figure clad in white robes appeared on top of the tower.

Zager's narrowed, deceitful eyes and sneer were easily visible, even when so far away. His whole being radiate spite and anger, along with the echo of a great power that he had once held but no more; I felt myself hating and fearing him with just one glance. His first words were directed towards Théoden, and the King tried to not to stand tall and proud in front of the wizard atop the tower.

I gulped. Something told me this wasn't going to be easy.

**~0~**

It was nice when we settled down to camp for the night; instead of us all splitting apart when we began to set up like last time (what with some of us crawling away to go to sleep as soon as we had gotten everything sorted while the others stayed up), a camp fire was kindled straight away and we all sat around to talk, sing and share stories. Pikachu and Umbreon laid out a feast of all the food they had found from the old Tower, as well as a small keg of ale , which was shared generously between us all (it was best to try and drink it all now, as there was no way we would lug the thing back with us).

I had ended up between Ash and Barry, which was strange to say the least. Barry and I had become fairly close friends by now, and Ash was, well, he was Ash and I enjoyed his company – but the two of them together was... uncomfortable. They had never been particularly fond of each other, I don't think, I somehow I felt my presence that was meant to be keeping them apart (instead of at each other's throats) was somehow making it worse.

Somehow, as the night bore on and the stars began to litter the sky, the subject had turned to the Elf on my left – he had been very quiet while Barry was talking, absent-mindedly toying with a braid in his hair while his mind was elsewhere, and surprisingly Oak was the one to comment on his sudden stillness.

"My goodness, how you appear to have changed, master Ash," Oak had boomed after a few moments of watching him. "Such an exuberant child you used to be, and now so very quiet!"

Everyone laughed as Ash's head shot up at the mention of his name, shadows and orange light from the fire dancing on his face. Blinking a few times, he turned to look at Oak quizzically.

"Your mother and I always agreed that you were rather a troublesome little rascal as an Elfling." He winked and inhaled deeply on his pipe. "Never could follow any orders without some sort of complaint or form of backtalk! You certainly gave your poor minder something to work with – at least now you can sit silently without fidgeting every few moments!"

Ash, who was smiling though his eyes were wide with shock and embarrassment, wrung his hands together, words unable to leave his mouth; it seemed he was rather taken aback by Oak's sudden comment. I giggled as he shifted his gaze over to me, unsure what to say in return.

"Well, that certainly has not changed much," Gary commented wryly on Ash's uncomfortable shifts where he sat, grinning fondly underneath the shadows on his face.

With a satisfied smirk, I watched his cheeks colour with shame. Strangely, it was rather nice seeing him get embarrassed and teased by his friends.

"That's funny," I said to him, turning to face him full on with a wide grin plastered on my features, "I never pictured you being a brat as child."

"I do not remember me being a particularly difficult Elfling…" he coughed quietly under his breath, raising his eyebrows at Oak and saying a little louder, "Nor do I ever remember you having such conversations with my father about my behaviour!"

Breathing out a few smoke rings Oak chuckled, "Oh, that is not even the worst of it, dear Ash – I seem to remember eavesdropping being a worse one of your habits, and your father agreed." The wizard looked up and caught my eye, ignoring Ash's splutters and awkward coughs with a knowing smile. "In the end, the Queen resorted to keeping the young master in his chambers while their meetings took place – but, of course, you then learned to pick the locks with the tip of your sword or an arrow head!"

"A skill which has proved me to be quite useful during the years," Ash sniffed, trying to regain some of his dignity. Gladad (who was placed on the other side of him) sniggered and clapped him on the back a few times in a poor attempt of comfort. "Oh, Arceus, you make it sound as if I were a burden on my father! Besides," he continued with another cough, looking over to me again with a slight smile, "I always heard my name while they spoke _oh so secretly_ in the meeting hall and I was only ever curious as to what they might be saying."

Oak's pointed hat teetered on his head as he laughed, and I heard Pikachu and Umbreon sniggering as they consumed the last of their food. "And I suppose you expected to hear all good words?" Ash blushed an even deeper shade of scarlet, but laughed along good naturedly.

Pulling his knees to his chest and burying his face into his hands, Ash shrunk away from all our jests and laughter. "What is this? The day we all tell embarrassing stories about my childhood?"

"Well, it does make for a rather interesting topic of dinner entertainment," Gladad said with a snide smile. Ash groaned.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry, Ash," Barry told him, biting a huge chunk out of an apple and then continuing with his mouth full, "Alice and I have probably done much worse!"

Palmer nodded, "And I'm sure with your stories Barry and Alice would have become fast friends with your past self!"

"Oh, they are true," Gary said, raising an eyebrow at Ash who began blushing profusely again, "and you were even worse when paired with Ellrohir and Elrolan!"

"Ellrohir and Elrolan?" I asked, pursing my lips – I recognised the names, but I don't think I had ever met or heard too much about these two. Were they not the twin sons of one of the mighty Elven lords?

The Elves in Tadasea were always slightly more excluded from the rest of the Elven settlements, so I was usually a little clueless when it came to things like this.

Gary nodded, bringing the tip of his pipe to his mouth again. "Lord Erwel's sons," he confirmed for me, the ghost of a smile playing on his lips, "and technically also my brothers – I was always very young when Ash chanced a visit to see them, but even back then I knew that the three of them together were never good news!" He shook his head, reminiscing and laughing quietly. "I felt especially sorry for Queen Delia and Lord Erwel, who had to deal with them all as Elflings – not to mention myself, as I was usually dragged into their mischief one way or another."

By this point, Ash was verging on a deep beetroot red. "M-my apologies, Gary…" he stuttered out, hiding his face from us, "Your brothers and I never meant any harm!"

It was strange trying to picture Gary as a child, and even stranger attempting to imagine Ash roping him into pranks and getting him into trouble. Another thing that had struck me (although I was a little to shy to ask about) was the reference to Delia, the Elven-Queen of Viridian. I had never had the courage to ask, nor had I ever been told much about Ash's family (though he had once mentioned once the lack of a father-figure). I knew he was from Viridian… but was Delia really his mother? How had I never come to realise this?

That meant Ash was a prince…

I suddenly felt my face going as red as Ash's – he was a _prince_, and not just any prince but that of Queen Delia's line of blood. The Elves of Tadasea were once Viridian Elves… does that mean Ash had rule over me still? Of course, I always guessed he held a high status but a _prince_?

We had kissed. I wonder what his mother might think of his son and (for lack of a better word) a hybrid scout? Or worse, what might the Elven-queen think of his son if we were ever to wed…

I shook my head, ridding my mind of those particular thoughts – marriage was certainly not what I wanted to think about, especially when the object of my desire was sitting less than two feet away from me.

Pikachu and Umbreon (who were enjoying the childhood tales as much as I was) were giggling along with me, the three of us finding it hard to stop smiling. Things were almost back to normal again, in one sense – at least the sombre mood had been extinguished and we were all chatting merrily again, as old friends (and new friends, when taking into account Pikachu and Umbreon, although that only really applied to me as the others were already acquainted with the two). Although things had not entirely calmed, at least now things were settling down, and it felt good to laugh once more.

Oak breathed out another smoke ring and chuckled in his deep, gravely tones, "And then there was the time the young master Elf dyed his hair, in an attempt of rebellion against his father…"

"The sun has long since gone now; do you not think we should all be going to sleep?" Ash interrupted before Oak could finish, ending with a nervous laugh, fidgeting restlessly with the hem of his cloak. His entire face had now gone redder than the fruit I expected he used to stain the pale golden locks.

I rolled my eyes with a small, amused sigh, catching his pleading gaze yet again and smirking. "As much as I am sure we would all enjoy hearing that story… Ash is right. If we want to make it back to Jubilife in good time tomorrow, then we best be off to sleep."

Pikachu and Umbreon groaned, already anxious to listen to the unfortunate (albeit surely hilarious) tale, but Ash just smiled at me gratefully. "Thank you," he mouthed to me and I laughed.

"I expect for you yourself to tell me another time," I whispered under my breath in return. Then, continuing out loud once more, I offered to take the first watch.

"No, no," Barry said, taking me by surprise – I had been so caught up in all the stories and he had been so quiet that I had almost forgotten that he was there. "I can take first watch for you – you should sleep, and I doubt that there would be a particularly large amount of danger to look out for now we are getting closer to Jubilife." Varry's hazel eyes darkened, flickering between Ash and myself, before settling on myself. "The last few nights have been rather quiet, it would make no difference."

Before I could say anything about how I wasn't very tired and could easily stay up for a few more hours, Ash had piped up for me (having recovered fully from his previous ordeal of being relentlessly teased by Oak and Gary). "I'm sure Dawn can look after herself," the Elf told him bluntly, kneeling and placing a hand on the crevice of my neck. It is you and King Palmer who will need the most sleep out of all of us, if you want to make an entrance when we reach Jubilife."

Varry's eyes narrowed and his lips tightened at being spoken down to – though taller by the head than Ash when standing up, Ash was almost leaning over the sitting man when perched on his knees. "You would not wish to tire the poor girl?"

"I do not, but I have known her for far longer than you have and if she wants to take the watch then I know she will cope."

I sighed – that certainly had not been what he had said before the battle, when he had tried to convince me not to fight at the risk of my death. Couldn't Ash make up his mind already?

I tilted my chin upwards to catch Ash's attention, pressing my palm over where his fingers touched my skin. "If Barry wants to take the shift in my place then he can," I said in a quiet voice, and Ash's face ignited with an array of different gestures that altogether made up a rather unpleasant scowl.

There was a short moment where no one spoke, but I could practically feel the heat and daggers that were shot between the two bristling men in but one mere shared look.

**~0~**

I wasn't asleep for very long; a quiet scuffle and my feet being shifted ever so slightly soon brought me back to consciousness. It was still dark, the blackened violet of night broken by soft orange glow just a few feet away from me.

It was the fire, still smouldering gently, and as I sat up and blinked away the sleepy haze a figure was made visible, crouched over and fuelling the flames with broken bits of wood. Leaning back on my arms I peered at him through the dark, trying to learn who it was.

Silky dark braids warmed to a sweet gold colour in the flickering firelight and it was a few moments before he looked up and noticed that I was awake.

"Sorry," Ash whispered, voice almost drowned by the crackle and pop of burning wood. "It wasn't my intention to wake you. It is a cold night and, since there is no danger about, I might as well relight the fire."

"It's okay…" My words trailed off into silence; this was the first time we had actually been alone together since Oreburgh – well, technically alone, at least, I suppose this was the closest we could ever get. "Do you…need any help?" My mouth felt dry and my mind went blank. What was I to say? Or do? We couldn't just sit here in silence…

Ash shook his head, turning his attention back to the flames. "No, I should be fine."

Sitting up further, I crossed my arms in my lap and leaned forward, my brow creased in concern. Was it just me, or was Ash being a bit abrupt? "Are you sure?" I tried again, "There is nothing heroic about denying a little help."

He chuckled and a smile tugged at the corners of my lips. "There is also nothing much heroic about relighting a fire – you would freeze without it. You were already shivering earlier, this is the least I can do."

There was not much I could say to that, in fact I was actually a little taken back by the kindness of his gesture.

"You should have said something if you were cold," Ash told me after I was quiet for a while, "I could have leant you my cloak."

Of course there was no way I could stay silent at this; it was a rare moment when I say his compassionate side directed towards me, and so far the few times that the Elf had acted this way have never left my memory. "Thank you. Though I would have been fine without it, I can handle myself, you know."

"If you insist," Ash said with a wink. "I suppose would be against it if I offered it to you, then?"

"I– I did not say that, entirely…"

Another soft laugh. Ash paused his work on the campfire to unlatch the beautiful leaf shaped brooch at his throat, slipping the grey-green material from his shoulders and placing it neatly over my own.

"Thank you." It was already warm, heated both by his body and also from how close he had been sitting to the fire. I pulled the hem over my feet, tucking them under the surprisingly thin cloth. "So… you really dyed your hair?"

An embarrassed smile broke across Ash's face as he bowed his head away from me, remembering the incident. I shifted closer, grinning inanely, and with a small sigh he finally relented to relive the tale. "Oak exaggerates how awful the event was! But, to cut a long story short, as a child I was never much of a fan of being taught the political sides of being a prince and there was one particular affair which I did not want to go to… so, in a poor attempt to get out of going – and not to mention in a slight rebellion against my mother – I used forest berries to stain the tips of my hair."

So, it was true, Ash was a prince. Not that I ever doubted his heritage, but it was still rather strange to think of him as actual royalty. "You actually did that?" It was hard to giggle, and even harder to keep the volume of my voice down. All I could see was a tiny, childlike version of Ash, except in place of his usual black locks he had his hair was a brilliant, flaming cherry colour. It was probably less extravagant in real life, but that didn't stop my imagination from getting the better of me.

"Bearing in mind I was but a child!" came the argument in his defence, but a cheerful smile gave away that – not Arceus knows how many years later from the incident – Ash now found it as funny as I did. "Besides, it only lasted about a week. Mother made me try and wash out the colour about three times a day to rid my hair of it, and it was not even that bright in the first place! She was not what you call _pleased_."

"Maybe you should have just used more berries to make it more permanent? I think the colour might suit you," I suggested to him, and watched as the silken tresses tumbled off his shoulders and down his back as the Elf tipped his head back to laugh.

I missed these times when it was just us two: even just trying to remember the last time when I had actually been alone with him took far more effort than it should have, and it reminded me just how much I wanted to be with him. So much had happened after Oreburgh that the feelings had been dimmed slightly – but now they were back, and brighter than ever before.

It was as these thoughts crossed my mind that I realised that, when wrapping his cloak around me, the Elf's slender, pale fingers had lingered on my arm, the gentle pressure pleasant and tickling. With a small smile and a nervously fluttering heart, I reached out to touch one of the delicate plaits – the small doubt ever lived in me that one day I might try to take his hand and he would turn away from me in disgust.

Thankfully, however, Ash did nothing of the sort. I rolled the small braid between my fingers, contemplating his story. "You know, I am sure you might suit something other than black har. Perhaps one day I might have to ambush you with blueberries, to see how purple looks?

Grinning, Ash bent his head down and my stomach leaped as I began to feel his hot breath on my cheek. "I am sure my father would be thrilled if you did that. Now, what colour for you…" Ash picked playfully at some strands of my hair. "I am thinking… green, maybe? You would blend in more that way, less trouble."

"Nonsense! I have always thought myself to suit more of a pink shade."

Bodies stirred behind us, interrupting our flirtatious banter, but we ignored the small movement. I braced myself for the electricity that would spark to life as soon as the space between our mouths was closed, but it never occurred. Instead, Ash traced a line down my cheek with the tip of his finger and pressed his lips to my temple. "The others will be up soon," he mumbled to me when I looked up at him through heavy-lidded eyes. Despite it still being fairly dark, I knew that Théoden wished to arrive in Jubilife fairly early, so preparations for an evening's celebration feast could be made.

Shaking off the hem of Ash's cloak, I stretched my feet out and rested them near the small fire that was now going. If I wanted to retire again I expect Ash would most likely stay by the fire and keep an eye on the rest of us (particularly the Pokemon), what with it being his turn to keep watch.

Ash picked a few pieces of grass from the top of my head, a slight smirk edging its way into his expression. With his presence close to me and the warmth presented by the palm of his hand and his cloak, I withdrew from him slightly and lay down my head once again.

**Ta daa! How was that chapter?  
Sorry guys, I have to go – I'm leaving in 20 minutes for my flight.**

**Speaking of which, I won't be able to upload for the next 5 weeks as I'm out and about on holiday but hopefully I would be able to get one up as soon as I get back.**

**Please comment and review, thanks!**


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